


Twist Of Fate

by WillowBlueJay17



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Alive Tadashi, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, BH6 AU, Big Hero 6 AU, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Movie Spoilers, Tadashi Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2015-01-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 05:55:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 71,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2762150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillowBlueJay17/pseuds/WillowBlueJay17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A small twist of fate can change quite a lot about a story. But, in the end, a brother still grieves. A story that looks to offer a different but familiar approach to the story if a certain something had happened differently. Big Hero 6 AU. Movie spoilers will be present as the story progresses. COMPLETED!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You And Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is my AO3 debut! I have been in FFN and on Tumblr, so I guess this is the next step, right? I actually made this account because I saw a comment that someone wanted to see this specific story on AO3. And so, here it is! I'm gonna upload the eight chapters that exist all together, so that you guys who read it here will be up to date with the FFN and Tumblr readers. Anyways, hope you enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is not mine to own.

"Tadashi, honey, don't be like that…"

Six year old Tadashi Hamada's pout grew bigger at his mother's words. He drew himself up into a tighter ball as he lay on the couch, fiddling away with the toy robot his father had gotten him for his birthday the week before.

He heard his parents sighing. He wasn't taking the news as they had expected, but he didn't care. You see, Tomeo and Marie Hamada had come back from the doctor's office with what they thought was exciting news.

Tadashi Hamada was going to be a big brother…and he didn't like that at all.

Tadashi had heard about what it was like to be an older sibling from the other kids at school. He'd seen what it was like too. Parents never had time for the oldest anymore, focusing all their attention on the new baby. They spoiled the baby rotten while the older one got left behind. A boy in his class had told him about how his little sister always got away with messing up his stuff since she's his parents' "precious angel". One of the girls talked about how her little brother's crying has kept her up all night. Tadashi had seen a couple younger siblings do something wrong, only to get the older sibling in trouble. Because it was the older sibling's "job" to look out for the younger ones.

If that was how being a big brother was like, then Tadashi wanted no part of it. He wanted his parents' love all to himself, thank you very much.

"Tadashi," his mother said softly, taking a seat beside where he was curled up on the couch, "C'mon, sweetie, I know you'll be a wonderful big brother."

"I don't want a baby," the six year old mumbled, a frown planted firmly on his face as he twisted his robot's arm this way and that, "Cancel the order."

"Tadashi, that…isn't exactly how it works," his father replied, amusement in his voice, "You'll love your new brother or sister, I'm sure you will."

"No, I won't," Tadashi answered, sitting up and glaring at his father, "Being a big brother won't be any fun. The other kids said so."

"Well, they're new to being older siblings," Mr. Hamada pointed out, "I probably would've acted the same way if I ever had a sibling."

"I was that way," Mrs. Hamada added, "You know how your Aunt Cass is my little sister, right, Tadashi? Oh, I remember crying and begging my parents to take her back when I first saw her at the hospital."

"Marie…" Mr. Hamada began warningly, looking at the way Tadashi stared at his mother.

"She never seemed to stop crying either!" Mrs. Hamada continued on, too lost in memories, "I was practically falling asleep in class for the whole first year!"

"Marie…"

"And that little weasel was always drooling over all my stuff. I got so mad when I saw her chewing on my favorite book."

"Marie…"

"And do not get me started on that time with the go-kart and that ice cream truck! My parents never let me hear the end of that one-"

"Marie!"

Mrs. Hamada jumped at her husband's shout before following his finger, pointed at their son. She chuckled sheepishly at the horrified expression on Tadashi's face.

"Yup," Tadashi decided as he jumped off the couch, "I don't want a baby!"

With that he ran out of the living room, headed towards his own bedroom. That decided it. There was no way Tadashi would ever like this new baby. He only hoped his parents would understand and decide to cancel their order after all.

~~~~~

Nine months passed and Tadashi found himself waiting with Aunt Cass outside the hospital room his parents were in. His parents, despite Tadashi's arguments, had decided not to cancel their order for the baby.

Tadashi had to admit that while he still wasn't very excited about the baby, he'd become more interested in the idea as the months had passed. He had been curious as he saw his mother's stomach getting bigger and bigger. He wasn't sure why his parents laughed when he asked how the doctor fit the baby in there.

Sometimes he'd go to ask his mother something, only to spot her gently rubbing her stomach with a really sweet smile on her face. He had asked his father this and that about the baby, even helping to set up the nursery.

Tadashi remembered his parents telling him how the baby was going to be a boy. He had to admit, a part of him was interested about that. A little brother…

Tadashi still didn't want the baby to steal his parents' love from him though.

"Oh, aren't you excited, Tadashi?" Aunt Cass asked, "You're gonna get to meet your new baby brother!"

"Yeah…" Tadashi mumbled, swinging his legs as he sat restlessly in the chair.

Aunt Cass raised an eyebrow at his behavior, leaning a little closer to the six year old.

"What's the matter?" she asked him, gently turning his face to look at her, "Your brother isn't even here yet and you're already tired of him?"

Tadashi only furrowed his brow a bit at her questions, looking away before pulling his knees close to his chest.

"Well, I gotta say you're lucky you're the older one," Aunt Cass told him, "Being the younger sibling is tough, trust me on that!"

"R-really?" Tadashi was surprised at that, "What's so bad about it?"

"Oh, it's not that it's bad, really. It's just kinda tough. I mean, growing up I always thought I could never be as great as Marie. She's beautiful, funny, cool-"

"But you are cool, Aunt Cass!" Tadashi exclaimed.

"And you're a man after my own heart, aren't you?" Aunt Cass smiled, putting a hand over her heart, "Well, I guess I'm cool. But back then I didn't think so. I always thought Marie was better at everything. And she was always way smarter too. No one was surprised when she became a lead researcher at the San Fransokyo Robotics Lab. I remembered feeling so proud, yet jealous too because she just seemed to be doing more and more amazing things in her life."

Aunt Cass grinned at Tadashi before ruffling his hair.

"But if she didn't do those things she'd have never worked with your dad and then we wouldn't have you or your brother."

"You don't hate Mom, do you, Aunt Cass?" Tadashi wondered.

"No way!" Aunt Cass laughed, "I love Marie to bits! Sure, we've argued a bunch over the years. We've said mean things to each other. And we've gotten each other in trouble before. We've always competed for our parents' attention."

Aunt Cass closed her eyes and smiled softly, as though lost in her memories.

"But we still love each other. We cried and laughed together. We've shared secrets and protected each other. We've encouraged each other too. I helped Marie realize how much she wanted to pursue a career in science. She helped me to stop trying to please our parents and do everything she had done. She saw how unhappy I was and helped me realize how much I wanted to run my own café."

"So…" Tadashi started after a moment, "Is it hard or easy? Having a sibling?"

"…Both," Aunt Cass answered, "Sometimes one, sometimes the other. But at the end of the day, it's both."

That wasn't exactly the answer the six year old had been hoping to get. Tadashi wasn't sure he quite understood what Aunt Cass meant.

"Hey, guys."

Tadashi and Aunt Cass turned in the direction of the voice to see Mr. Hamada standing at the door to the hospital room, a tired but happy expression on his face. Mr. Hamada squatted down to be at eye level with Tadashi.

"You wanna meet your little brother, Tadashi?" he asked.

"…Okay…"

The room was big and the walls were white, except for the blue banners and bright balloons brought by Aunt Cass and other well-wishers. In the big bed was Mrs. Hamada, sweating and looking absolutely exhausted, but still managing to smile brightly.

"Hi, sweetheart," she whispered when Tadashi approached the bed, "You're a big brother now."

She tiredly pointed at a smaller bed on wheels that was next to hers. Tadashi could hear some soft noises coming from the small bed, but it was too high up for him to see inside. Mr. Hamada picked up the six year old to give him a proper peek at the bed's contents.

"Tadashi…Say hello to Hiro."

The baby, Hiro, was…tinier than Tadashi had expected. A tiny thing with pinkish skin and eyes firmly shut. He was wrapped up snugly in a dark blue blanket, a matching cap atop his head, a couple small tufts of black hair peeking out beneath the little hat.

"…He isn't doing anything," Tadashi noted.

"He's sleeping," his mother replied, "Babies will sleep a lot."

Tadashi tilted his head, continuing to stare at the little guy who would now be his baby brother.

"So what's the verdict, little man?" Aunt Cass questioned, a grin on her face.

"…I guess he's kinda cute…"

~~~~~

Mr. and Mrs. Hamada had been quite pleased about the development between Tadashi and baby Hiro. Tadashi had shied away from the infant for the first week or so. However, the six year old's curiosity soon got the better of him. Tadashi would ask to be lifted up to peek into Hiro's crib. When his parents would hold the baby, Tadashi would poke Hiro's cheeks gently, watching him closely.

Sometimes, Mr. and Mrs. Hamada would peek into Hiro's nursery, only to spot Tadashi there, standing on the nearby bed to get a good view of the crib next to it. He'd be showing off one of his robots or an invention he came up with, talking excitedly about it and carefully holding it out to give Hiro a peek at it. Hiro, usually a rather quiet child, would babble quite a bit in return.

As the months passed, sometimes the proud parents would try and let Tadashi hold his baby brother. Of course, the first few episodes weren't quite so nice, with Tadashi putting his face a bit too close, causing Hiro to excitedly grasp his nose or yank on his hair. While Mr. and Mrs. Hamada worried that this would deter their older son from interacting with the younger one, they were surprised by how many times Tadashi wanted to try again.

"I'm not giving up on you," the six year old would say determinedly to Hiro before plopping on the couch and asking to hold the baby again.

Eventually, Tadashi got the hang of holding Hiro without resulting in another painful yank. Mr. and Mrs. Hamada smiled as Tadashi would giggle over the silly noises Hiro made as he reached for his big brother's face.

There were little fights, of course. Tadashi was never too happy to see Hiro putting his mouth on and slobbering over a project he was working on. And there were times when the crying was too much for Tadashi to take.

But Tadashi seemed to take to the idea of big brother better than Tadashi himself had expected. And little Hiro seemed to be quite devoted to his big brother.

After all, Mr. and Mrs. Hamada saw how, when Hiro was old enough to start crawling, the baby would chase after Tadashi whenever he could, despite the fact that he was usually too slow to keep up with the older boy. Tadashi, in return, would often grin when he looked over his shoulder and spotted a familiar little figure trailing after him, purposefully slowing down.

~~~~~

"C'mon, Hiro, come to Daddy!"

"No, come to Mama, Hiro!"

"Are we really competing over this?"

"We compete over everything, Tomeo."

"True…"

Tadashi looked up from his homework to laugh softly to himself over his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Hamada were each a foot away on opposite sides of one year old Hiro, who was standing on unsteady little legs, holding a nearby table to support himself. Hiro had taken a few steps before, only to fall down quite quickly. But, in true Hamada spirit, the kid kept trying again and again. And now, Mr. and Mrs. Hamada were competing to see who Hiro would walk to first.

The now seven year old Tadashi had returned his focus to his homework for just a few minutes when he heard his mother shout.

"Tadashi, look!"

Tadashi turned his head and his eyes widened. Hiro…Hiro was walking! Walking in his direction!

The seven year old jumped out of his chair and knelt down, holding his arms out.

"C'mon, buddy, you're almost here!" he said encouragingly while his mother was ordering his father to grab the camera quickly.

Hiro was just a few steps from Tadashi, arms reaching out for him as usual, when he stumbled and started to fall. Tadashi acted quickly and caught the baby before he fell on his face.

"Nice one, Hiro!" Tadashi exclaimed, smiling broadly at the child in his arms.

Hiro giggled in return, reaching for Tadashi's face. As Tadashi played with his little brother, he heard his father moan pitifully in the background.

"I can't believe we lost to the big brother again…"

~~~~~

"C'mon, Hiro, say 'Tadashi'."

"Dashi!"

"No, bud, it's Tadashi…"

"Dashi, Dashi!"

"You're forgetting the first part of my name."

"Dashi!"

"…Well, I guess I can be Dashi for now."

~~~~~

"Okay, ready, Hiro?"

The now two year old Hiro stared at eight year old Tadashi with a determined grin. Tadashi had been trying to teach Hiro a special handshake for the two of them to have. Sure, it may have been a bit too much for a two year old to remember, but that didn't stop either of the boys from trying.

"Okay, first it's like this," Tadashi said slowly, manipulating his brother's hand for the first part of the handshake, "Now, make a fist. And we fist bump. Ready for the last part?"

Tadashi then pulled his hand away from Hiro's, releasing the fist and making an explosion noise. Hiro immediately laughed at hearing the noise.

"Again, again!" Hiro cried, sticking his hand out to do it again.

"Alright, let's do this."

~~~~~

"Hiro!"

The two year old seemed to look a little ashamed at being caught playing with the robotics kit Tadashi had gotten for Christmas by none other than Tadashi himself. Tadashi had his hands on his hips and a frown on his face. He was about to scold Hiro until he saw what his little brother had done.

"W-wow, Hiro," Tadashi's voice was full of awe as he got closer, kneeling down beside his brother, "You already put half of it together!"

"Cool, right?" Hiro asked, smiling as he held up the half completed robot.

"Real cool," Tadashi nodded, ruffling Hiro's hair, "Man, you did a nice job with it."

"Need help."

Hiro held out a strange piece. Tadashi recognized it as a piece he himself had trouble with. The piece didn't seem to fit anywhere on the robot, yet Tadashi knew it was indeed part of the kit and so it had to go somewhere.

"Well, you know what Mom and Dad say," Tadashi tried to deepen his voice to imitate his father, "'Every problem has a solution. If you can't figure it out, just look at it from another angle!'"

"Huh?"

"Well, if you can't figure out the answer, just look at the problem differently, and maybe that'll help!"

Hiro nodded at the explanation before trying, and failing, to do a handstand.

"What're you up to, knucklehead?" Tadashi asked, trying not to laugh at his brother's repeated attempts to do a handstand.

"I'm looking differently!" Hiro replied, groaning after another failed attempt.

"I…don't think Mom and Dad meant it literally…But why not?"

Tadashi joined Hiro's attempts at doing a handstand, both trying to solve the mystery of the strange robot piece. Neither of them were aware of their parents lurking at the doorway with cameras in their hands.

~~~~~

Tadashi Hamada was not jealous…Okay, maybe a little…

It had to do with his three year old brother. A couple weeks earlier, his mother had left a paper covered in complex calculations behind on the table. When she had returned for it, she had found Hiro using his crayon on the paper. Mrs. Hamada had taken it away, worried that the notes were ruined.

However, she was utterly stunned to see that Hiro had actually written out solutions to half the problems in crayon…And the solutions were correct.

After that, Mr. and Mrs. Hamada went out with Hiro to some doctors. The news they got was amazing. Hiro Hamada was a child prodigy, his IQ far above the average for his age. He was able to solve scientific and math problems that were advanced, even by researching standards.

Three year old Hiro Hamada was a certified genius.

Tadashi had been stunned when he overheard his parents talking about it excitedly, gushing with pride over their little boy. Hiro was over in the corner, apparently focusing on his coloring book. But, from the pink color on his cheeks, it seemed the toddler was well aware of the praise he was getting.

Tadashi had taken a peek at the calculations that Hiro had solved. His head was hurting in seconds and he couldn't figure them out, not even Hiro's little solutions.

Now Tadashi was smart too. It seemed to come with being the son of two top robotics researchers. He was pretty advanced for his age, working out problems and reading books several grades ahead of where he was.

But nine year old Tadashi was not the same kind of smart three year old Hiro was.

Tadashi was really proud of his baby brother, for sure. But he couldn't help but feel envious too.

~~~~~

"But…You promised!"

Tadashi was angry as he looked back and forth from his mother to his father. Hiro, who was in his mother's arms, seemed unaware of the tension as he played with the robot Tadashi had given him earlier.

Four months…He had been eagerly waiting for four months! They had promised him four months ago that they'd take him!

There was a giant week long robots expo going down in the heart of San Fransokyo. Scientists and students from all over the world would be showing off the latest bits of technology. Tadashi had begged and pleaded and finally his parents had managed to get a day off from work so they could attend the expo.

But now, there was a change of plans.

"I'm sorry, Tadashi," his father said, putting a hand on the nine year old's shoulder, "I know how much you wanted to attend the expo. But the doctors really needed us to bring Hiro in to check on his development."

"But can't you reschedule?" Tadashi asked, "You promised me first!"

"I know, dear, we tried but the doctors couldn't make it any other day," his mother explained.

"But…Robert Callaghan is gonna be there!"

Robert Callaghan was one of the leading experts in the field of robotics, considered by many to be one of the pioneers in the advancements of recent years. He was one of Tadashi's idols and this expo was supposed to be his chance to finally meet the man he admired so much.

"We're really sorry, Tadashi," his mother said, "The next time the expo comes we'll make sure to take you. But today we really need to go with Hiro. You can be a good boy and stay with your Aunt Cass for a few hours, right?"

Tadashi narrowed his eyes at his parents before wordlessly going to his room, slamming the door. He collapsed onto his bed, glaring at the ceiling.

It wasn't fair! They'd promised him! He'd been waiting for months for this! And now they were breaking his promise because some doctors were obsessed with his super smart little brother.

Half an hour later, when Aunt Cass had arrived and his parents said bye, Tadashi refused to talk to them, still very angry at the broken promise.

After another hour of playing games with his aunt, Tadashi realized that he was being pretty childish. He was still mad though. But he figured he would apologize to his parents when they came back with Hiro.

But when Aunt Cass answered the phone, dropping her mug of coffee and letting out a scream at whatever she had heard, Tadashi knew…

He knew his world had changed.

~~~~~

They had driven in rainy weather before. It wasn't anything new. And it wasn't even heavy rain. But, sometimes, things happen. It was just chance that caused the car to skid out of control. Just chance that the impact killed Tomeo and Marie Hamada instantly.

Just chance that Hiro Hamada had miraculously survived with just a few cuts and bruises.

Tadashi's sobbing managed to drown out Hiro's as the nine year old clung to his baby brother in the hallway of the hospital, their Aunt Cass wrapping her arms around her nephews.

It was all just chance, a small twist of fate.

And now Tadashi and Hiro Hamada were orphans.

~~~~~

Despite all the crying he had done for days and days, Tadashi was very calm throughout the funeral. Hiro, on the other hand, wouldn't stop crying and asking for his parents.

After the services were done, Tadashi had spent some time alone in his room, the shades pulled down. He was still dressed in the crisp black suit he wore to the funeral.

In his hands was a picture of him, his brother, and their parents from just a few months earlier.

It wasn't fair…None of this was fair.

Was this his punishment? Because he had been a brat to his parents about the expo his punishment was to lose them? He should've never gotten mad. It was just one stupid little expo. There would've been more he could've attended. He probably would've gotten more chances to meet Robert Callaghan.

He hadn't even said goodbye to his parents that day. Just stayed stubbornly silent, not even hugging them. They died with their last memory of Tadashi being him acting like a jerk.

Tadashi gritted his teeth, trying his hardest not to start sobbing once again.

It was another's crying that got his attention. Silently, Tadashi left his room and saw Aunt Cass trying to calm down a still sobbing Hiro.

"There, there, Hiro," Aunt Cass shushed as she rocked him, "I'm here…"

"Let me take him, Aunt Cass," Tadashi said, holding out his arms for the boy.

"Oh, sweetie, it's okay, I don't-"

"I can handle it."

After a moment, Aunt Cass handed the three year old over. Tadashi held Hiro close as he returned to his bedroom, taking a seat on the bed.

"I want Mommy and Daddy," Hiro wept.

"…Me too," Tadashi whispered.

"Where are they?"

"They're…away, Hiro. Aunt Cass will look after us now. You love Aunt Cass, right?"

Hiro clung to him tighter, his crying getting softer.

"Tadashi…You won't leave, right?"

Tadashi wrapped his arms even tighter around Hiro, burying his face in his brother's hair.

"No, I won't. It's you and me now, Hiro."

Him and Hiro. He would have to take his job as big brother even more seriously than ever.

It was the only way he would ever make it up to his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! Long first chapter, huh? By the way, in the original Big Hero 6 comics, Hiro Takachiho's parents are named Tomeo and Maemi. For this Hiro, I kept the Dad's name but changed up Mom's, since Hiro Hamada is mixed race. Also, the thing about Hiro solving the math problems is based off a scene from the Big Hero 6 manga. And the Hamada Bros Rule thing I talk about in chapter 8 notes.
> 
> It's kinda interesting, getting used to this site's format. A little weird to have no bolding or italics....Oh dear, that's gonna make flashback sequences kinda annoying, since I use italics for flashback scenes and there are plenty in a certain couple chapters. Though I think there's coding I can use for that? Oh dear, have to bring back my deviantArt knowledge, don't I? Oh well!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please read and review!


	2. Just Fine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't get a chance to mention it in the last chapter notes but the AU I made for this story is one that I enjoy a lot. If anyone already read this story on FFN or Tumblr, you know what I'm talking about. And for those of you who are going into this without knowing, you'll see in chapter four~! Anyways, enjoy! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Yeah, still not owning Big Hero 6.

It had been two months since Tomeo and Marie Hamada had been laid to rest. Two months since the orphaned Tadashi and Hiro Hamada started living with their Aunt Cass.

Several other members of the family, who weren’t as close to the boys, had tried to convince Aunt Cass not to take them in. That she had her hands busy with the café, that she never had her own kids, that she probably didn’t want to ruin her single lifestyle by suddenly taking in two growing boys.

“RUIN?” she had repeated, fury evident in her tone, “I don’t care what any of you say, I know those boys best so I will be raising them, thank you very much!”

Two months passed since Aunt Cass had made that decision. And it had been a learning experience for all three of them. Tadashi learned that no, his mother hadn’t been exaggerating when she talked about her little sister’s stress eating habits. He ended up learning how to help out running a café too, even picking up a bit of baking. Though nothing he made ever did match Aunt Cass’ talents. He also learned that helping out with filling customers’ orders was an excellent memory exercise.

Hiro learned that Aunt Cass really wasn’t like his mother or father. She didn’t have toy robots in the closets, or boxes of parts tucked into the corners of rooms. She didn’t have any of those fun calculations for him to work on, or projects for him to build. But she did give some of the warmest hugs. And her spicy chicken wings were quickly becoming his favorite…Though Tadashi only ever allowed him to have one per meal, and even then his big brother said that Hiro really was way too young to have them yet.

Aunt Cass had to learn quite a bit, going from single lady to unexpected mother of two in a heartbeat. She learned Tadashi was a lot more mature than she remembered, always offering to lend a hand, not getting mad when she was running late or was too busy to take him to a place he wanted to go, doing his chores without being asked, taking charge in looking after Hiro. She learned Hiro absolutely needed something to do almost all the time or he’d get bored and cranky, leading to him getting into trouble. Tadashi was not a fan of green food…something involving an incident at the robotics lab with some dye and a sandwich. Hiro had a mild allergy to peanuts, which everyone found out the hard way. She learned that Tadashi took his time with his work, not necessarily because it was hard but rather because he would check over his work several times, occasionally adding things in and taking other stuff out. Hiro, whom she quickly learned to buy several books of equations and robotics kits for, would speed through all of them, usually only ever rechecking what he did for a second or two before moving on.

Tadashi and Hiro both loved robots, just like their parents before them. Both loved to invent, usually being found tinkering away on some new device in their room. Both had some messy hair, although Tadashi’s had some level of order and was usually hidden underneath a baseball cap while Hiro’s was an untamable, fluffy bird’s nest. Both were adorable sweethearts who were perfectly wonderful additions to the happy life Aunt Cass was already living.

There were ups and downs in those two months; a lot of trial and error as everyone got used to the new arrangement.

But within those two months, the pain of sudden loss was overwhelmed by the warmth of family.

~~~~~

It was a tough decision.

The Academy for Gifted Students, located three cities away, had sent over recruiters to try and convince Aunt Cass to let Hiro attend.

Tadashi was just as conflicted as Aunt Cass was over the chance. On the one hand, a school for gifted children might just be perfect for a brainiac like Hiro. A place where Hiro could really get the challenge he needed, a place where that intelligence of his would really soar.

On the other hand, Hiro was only five. And going to the academy would mean living there, in their state of the art dorms. He wouldn’t live alone of course, but neither Tadashi nor Aunt Cass would be able to live there with him. Would that be too much for a boy so young to take?

"What do you think, Tadashi?" Aunt Cass asked.

"I-I don’t know…" the eleven year old responded with a shrug. He looked in the direction of the stairs, "In the end, it’s Hiro’s choice, isn’t it?"

Tadashi headed up the steps and went to the room he and Hiro had shared for the past two years. Hiro was busy tinkering around with an old pair of boots. Tadashi remembered hearing the boy mention something about “flying cat boots”.

"Hey, buddy," Tadashi greeted, plopping down on the floor next to his little brother, "Listen, you remember those people who came here a few days ago?"

"The ones from the smart people school?" Hiro asked, not taking his eyes off his work.

"Yeah, them. Well, they were really impressed by how smart you are and…they kinda want you to go there."

That caught Hiro’s attention, causing the five year old to look at Tadashi with surprise.

"Really?" Hiro grinned when Tadashi nodded, "Whoa, cool!"

That…hadn’t been the response Tadashi expected. He watched Hiro babbling on excitedly about the academy, a pang in his heart. The idea of his brother going away to a place where he’d barely ever get to see him, it hurt. But if that made Hiro happy…

"Their rooms must be big for the three of us to fit!" Hiro exclaimed.

“‘Three of us’?” Tadashi repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"You, me, and Aunt Cass!"

"Um, Hiro? Aunt Cass and I can’t come with you."

Hiro’s shoulders drooped, a confused expression on his face.

"…You’re not coming?" he asked.

"It’s not that we won’t, we can’t,” Tadashi explained, “Only the students will get to live there. Aunt Cass and I can visit now and then but-“

"I won’t go."

Hiro was frowning deeply, nervously poking at the boots he had been working on.

"But you were so excited," Tadashi said.

"I don’t wanna leave you," Hiro mumbled, eyes locked on the boots.

Tadashi smiled softly at those words, scooting a little closer to his brother and putting an arm around him.

"You’d get to hang out with a lot of other smart kids," Tadashi told him, trying to make sure Hiro absolutely didn’t want to go, that he wasn’t just saying it for Tadashi’s sake.

“You’re smart,” Hiro replied.

"Yeah, but some of those kids would be around your age. You said you were having a hard time making friends, right?"

Unfortunately, a kid as smart as Hiro stood out like a sore thumb in a class of kindergartners who had the intelligence of…well, kindergarteners. While Hiro was childlike in many ways, with his imagination and his interest in games and the like, his extreme intelligence often set him apart and lead to the other kids teasing him when they weren’t outright ignoring him.

"Don’t you want some friends your age?" Tadashi asked.

"It’s fine," Hiro answered, pressing himself to Tadashi’s side, "I’ve got you and Aunt Cass. I’m fine."

"…If you say so, kid…"

~~~~~

"Will this work?"

"We won’t find out unless we test it!"

Seven year old Hiro was sitting right in front of thirteen year old Tadashi in the shopping cart that made up the body of their hovercraft. At least, “hovercraft” was what they were naming the seemingly disorganized jumble of junkyard parts they had put together.

After watching a pretty cool sci-fi movie with hovercrafts, the two boys, whose minds were always up for creating, immediately decided to build one themselves. The end of their six month project resulted in a device uglier and most likely smellier than what they had seen in the movie.

But that didn’t mean it wouldn’t work. And so, while their aunt was away doing shopping, the boys decided to see if their invention would do the trick.

As Tadashi got to work on starting the machine, he couldn’t help but glance at Hiro with concern.

"You know, Hiro," he said in what he hoped was a casual tone, "Maybe I should do the test flight myself."

"No fair!" Hiro shouted, looking over his shoulder to pout at his big brother, "We built it together so we get to ride it together!"

"I know but…just in case the flight doesn’t end well…"

"Then we’ll go down together too," Hiro stated in a matter of fact tone, adding in a nod for emphasis.

"Don’t say that," Tadashi couldn’t help but shudder at the mental image.

"Well, you’re gonna have to drag me out then!"

The pair glared at each other for a good minute before Tadashi let out a weary sigh and continued starting up the hovercraft. If anything did go wrong, Tadashi would just have to make sure that his brother got out with not even a scratch, no matter what he had to do.

"Ready?" Tadashi asked, hand on the lever to his right.

"Ready!" Hiro yelled excitedly.

"Three…two…one…Go!"

Tadashi pulled the lever, causing the motors to loudly whir. For a moment, Tadashi thought that was all the hovercraft was doing…But then…

"We’re floating!" Hiro cried.

Indeed, the hovercraft was living up to its name, going higher and higher at a steady pace.

"It works…" Tadashi whispered as they went above the roof of their café/home. He let out an exhilarated laugh, "We did it, Hiro!"

Tadashi flipped a few more switches and Hiro grabbed onto the wheel in front of him. The thrusters kicked in, causing the hovercraft to start moving forward. The boys laughed as Hiro turned the wheel this way and that. The view of San Fransokyo from their height was amazing…Tadashi wondered what it would be like from even higher up.

Hiro made racecar noises as he turned the wheel, leading the craft towards the nearby park. As they soared above the trees, a strange rumbling noise worried the pair.

"That’s a bad noise…" Hiro muttered.

"It is," Tadashi agreed, "Alright, we’re landing, let’s do this."

The brothers worked to flip the switches to prepare for landing, keeping an eye out for a safe spot to land. Once the trees began to clear, they started having the device go lower and lower. About sixty feet above the ground, the thrusters suddenly kicked into high gear.

Tadashi and Hiro screamed as their hovercraft sped forward faster than either had anticipated, while simultaneously going lower and lower. The boys could hear the sounds of some screaming citizens in the park scrambling out of the way of the out of control craft.

"I got you!" Tadashi yelled, grabbing Hiro and holding him tightly just before the craft impacted the ground.

And what a hard impact it was, skidding for a few feet before causing the boys to fly out and slam into the earth. Tadashi let out a cry of pain when his shoulder hit the ground particularly roughly. But he concentrated on making sure Hiro was as close to him as possible, that the seven year old did not have as bad a landing.

When they finally tumbled to a stop, Tadashi and Hiro laid on the ground wordlessly for a minute, catching their breath.

"You okay, Hiro?" Tadashi asked.

"Uh…Uh-huh," Hiro replied in a shaky voice, "Wh-what about you?"

Tadashi tried to sit up, but a searing pain went through his shoulder, causing him to wince.

"Well, I think I hurt my shoulder, there’s that."

"You’ll be okay, right?" Hiro sounded panicked, "Tadashi?"

"Hey, it’s alright," Tadashi groaned, "We’ll go home and get Aunt Cass to take me to the doctor."

Tadashi felt Hiro flinch against him at the word “doctor”. While Hiro’s memories of the accident that killed their parents was fuzzy now, he still associated doctors and hospitals with something bad, becoming incredibly nervous at the sight or even mention of either.

"I shouldn’t have come," Hiro was starting to sniffle, "Then, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt."

"Well, we don’t know about that," Tadashi responded, patting his brother head gently, "But hey, don’t blame yourself for what happened. Our invention wasn’t as ready for action as we thought, that’s all."

"…Do you think we’ll get in trouble for this?"

Tadashi turned his head, noticing the curious onlookers that were getting closer. He gulped when he spotted what appeared to be a couple of police officers running towards them.

"Loads of trouble, little brother…Loads…”

~~~~~

"You sure you wanna skip, Hiro?"

Tadashi was leaning against the doorframe, curious about his brother’s decision. Hiro had only just begun the fourth grade less than a month earlier before school officials called Aunt Cass. Tadashi had wondered if the call was about another incident like what happened at the first grade science fair. Though to be fair, no one told Hiro not to try and build an actual rocket.

Aunt Cass came back from a visit to the school to explain that the officials had been so impressed by Hiro’s performance in recent years that Hiro was welcome to skip the fourth grade…and go straight to seventh grade.

Tadashi had been offered the chance to skip grades a couple times. He’d never heard of getting to skip more than one grade at once though. But Tadashi had never taken the chance to skip, always worried that he’d feel too out of place among the older students. That he’d have a hard time keeping up with his friends who were his age while also having a hard time making new ones.

"Why not?" Hiro responded, petting Aunt Cass’ new cat, Mochi, "I already know everything the teacher’s talking about. Homework’s way too easy. I don’t like any of the other kids either."

Hiro didn’t mention why he didn’t like the other kids, but the reason was clear enough.

"New school, new me, right?" Hiro continued with grin.

"You sure you’ll be okay though?" Tadashi asked worriedly.

"You worry too much, Tadashi! What’s the worst that can happen?"

~~~~~

"Skipping class! Getting into a fight! It’s unbelievable!"

Tadashi winced as he heard the shouting. He pressed his ear closer to the closed door, trying to make sure he didn’t miss a word of what was being said in the principal’s office.

The principal of Hiro’s middle school had called Aunt Cass, saying that Hiro was in major trouble. Tadashi, whose school had been let out early that day, went with his aunt, worried about what his little brother had gotten himself into.

The aunt and nephew arrived to see an angry principal waiting with Hiro and two older boys. Hiro looked so tiny compared to the other two, it was almost laughable.

But all Tadashi felt was anger when he saw his brother covered in scrapes and bruises.

The principal explained that Hiro hadn’t shown up for the last class of the day. A couple other teachers went searching for him. When they found him out in the school courtyard, he was in the middle of a big fight with the two eighth grade boys. The two other boys had already been yelled at and picked up by their parents. Hiro was left.

"I’d suspend him, honestly," Tadashi heard the principal tell Aunt Cass, "However, a boy with those smarts brings our school a lot of prestige…"

"You shouldn’t use my nephew as a tool to make your school look better!" Aunt Cass replied, anger clear in her tone.

Tadashi sighed as he stepped away from the door, turning his head to glare at the short figure leaning against the wall, covered in bandages and with his gaze firmly set on his shoes.

"You better apologize to Aunt Cass after this, bonehead," Tadashi warned.

"Uh-huh," Hiro replied softly, not lifting his gaze.

"You’re gonna be grounded for a while, you know," Tadashi continued.

"Yeah…"

"The principal’s not gonna suspend you."

"Sure."

"You’ll probably get some detentions though."

"Yeah."

"You’ll have to clean my side of the room when we get back."

"Yup."

"And do all my chores for a month."

"Uh-huh."

"And say ‘Tadashi’s the best big brother in the world’."

"Right."

"…By the way, I think I accidentally threw out that thing you were working on. Megabolt? Metabot?"

“You threw out Megabot?” Hiro stared at Tadashi with horror, “I just started working on him last month and you-“

Hiro groaned when Tadashi started laughing.

"Not funny," the younger boy muttered.

"That’s what you get for not listening," Tadashi chuckled. He soon stopped, adopting a more serious expression on his face, "But seriously, Hiro, you’re in a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, yeah…I already heard it from the principal…"

Tadashi leaned down a little in order to be at eye level with his brother.

"Hey…" he began softly, "What happened?"

Hiro’s mouth was in a straight line as he turned his head away.

"You don’t start fights, Hiro…And no matter how bored you get with a class, I know you wouldn’t skip it for no reason."

Hiro remained completely silent, refusing to meet Tadashi’s eyes.

"…Those boys did something, didn’t they?"

There was a small twitch of Hiro’s eye. It seemed Tadashi hit the mark. He straightened up, taking off his cap for a second to run his fingers through his hair.

"Did you get in a good punch?" he asked.

"I thought you’d say ‘violence isn’t the answer’," Hiro said.

"Well, I’m not happy about you fighting," Tadashi admitted, "But I’m less happy those jerks attacked my kid brother."

Hiro at least let out a small chuckle at that. The nine year old sighed as he leaned his head back so that it tapped against the wall.

"They were making fun of me cause I got a perfect grade on a test everyone else failed," he started to explain, "The teacher is a really hard grader, but I’ve been getting perfect scores on all his tests. Those guys jumped me when I was going to my next class. We argued for a while, but then they tried to push me into that pond in the courtyard…That’s when I kicked one of them and the fight started."

"Did you tell the principal that?" Tadashi demanded, his fists clenched tightly at the idea of those jerks messing with Hiro.

"I didn’t wanna be a snitch," Hiro mumbled, "And they’d only tease me worse…"

"This is about your safety though! …You know, it’s probably not too late for you to go back to the fourth grade and-"

"No way!" Hiro interrupted, "I’m not going back just to learn dumb stuff I already know! I already know everything they’re teaching now too!"

"So what, you wanna skip again?" Tadashi asked, "Because I’m not sure-"

"No, just…" Hiro sighed, "Forget it, Tadashi…I’ll be fine."

Tadashi didn’t want to forget it, not for a second. But Hiro’s expression showed that he was not in the mood to talk about it anymore. And Tadashi didn’t want to force anything else out of the boy.

The ride back home from the principal’s office was one filled with Aunt Cass lecturing Hiro and also fussing over his injuries. Hiro kept providing one word responses while Tadashi kept looking at him nervously.

When they got home, after Aunt Cass made sure Hiro knew just what his punishment would be, the boys went to their room. Hiro sat in the chair by his computer, grabbing his tools and starting to work on his Megabot, a battle robot from what Hiro said in an offhand statement when Tadashi asked about it a while ago.

Tadashi fell back on his bed, tossing his cap over to the nearby table before resting his arms under his head. He wasn’t sure what to do. Was this incident a onetime thing? Or would Hiro be getting into more problems like this? Maybe he should’ve tried harder to dissuade Hiro from skipping so many grade levels. But he wasn’t Hiro’s keeper. In the end, it was his brother’s choice.

"What would Mom and Dad do?" Tadashi asked in the slightest of whispers.

Tadashi found it worrying when he couldn’t think of an answer to that question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do love writing sibling fluff quite a lot. I have a massive amount of love towards fictional siblings with positive relationships. So the second I saw that Hiro and Tadashi were brothers, Disney had me in a vice grip. And these two precious nerd boys have destroyed my heart.


	3. Unbelievable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, from what I've read, it seems it can be possible to put in bolds and italics, but it's a major pain to do so. Since that's how it is, I'll stick only to italics and only for flashback scenes. Makes things less troublesome for me.
> 
> Disclaimer: Still not owning Big Hero 6.

"What’re you doing?"

Tadashi shut the notebook he’d been drawing in quickly as he turned his chair around to face Hiro. The eleven year old stared at his seventeen year old brother confusedly.

"Okay, now I’m really curious,” Hiro stated before reaching for the book, “What’s in there?”

"You don’t have to know," Tadashi replied, catching his brother’s arm before it touched the book.

"What’s the big secret?" Hiro asked, trying to climb over Tadashi to get at the book.

Unfortunately for Hiro, puberty had really kicked in for Tadashi, giving the teenager a tall frame. And Tadashi also had some decent muscles on him, thanks to his years of taking karate. Hiro, on the other hand, was still much shorter and scrawnier than other kids his age. The seventeen year old was easily able to hold back his little brother from getting at the book.

"Just a little something I wanna work on in the future," Tadashi said as he gently shoved his brother off him, "Once I complete it, then you can see it.”

Hiro huffed, his curiosity driving him to try and steal the notebook and find out what this secret project was that Tadashi was planning.

"Anyways, shouldn’t you be getting to bed?" Tadashi pointed at the clock, "It’s getting late. You have school tomorrow."

"So do you," Hiro retorted as he plopped down on his bed, arms crossed in front of him.

"Yeah, but tomorrow’s your first day at high school.”

Tadashi didn’t miss that split second look of panic that crossed his little brother’s face.

Hiro had completed the seventh and eighth grade intact, there was that. However, as Tadashi had dreaded, there were more problems after that first fight. While Hiro stayed silent and dodged questions, Tadashi still saw those cuts and bruises the kid was hiding. Other than for a few extreme incidents, the principal never called home much, meaning Hiro was doing his best to keep his problems a secret. Aunt Cass mentioned that his teachers all said that Hiro would constantly talk back to them.

It wasn’t even just that. Hiro appeared to become more and more withdrawn. He spent more time working on his bots than he did going out, even with Tadashi. While he didn’t slack off on homework, he treated it as a chore that wasn’t worth his time.

His little brother was miserable, it was obvious.

"New school, new me, right?" Hiro chuckled nervously, "Well, this’ll be the first time you and me are at the same school, Tadashi!"

"Yeah, but you’re a freshman, I’m a senior," Tadashi replied, "Our schedules are gonna keep us apart all day. Well, except for lunch."

Hiro’s whole body seemed to droop at that. The eleven year old flopped onto his back before turning on his side, away from Tadashi. The seventeen year old let out a sigh before going over and taking a seat on Hiro’s bed.

"So…How’s that Megabot of yours coming along?" he asked, trying to take Hiro’s mind off of school.

"It’s missing a few parts," Hiro murmured, "But it’s getting there."

"And this is for a bot fight? You know those are illegal, Hiro."

“Betting on them is illegal,” Hiro corrected, turning onto his back to look at Tadashi.

"Can you try not to get yourself arrested?"

"I make no promises."

Tadashi ruffled Hiro’s hair, causing the younger boy to laugh and push his arm away.

"Seriously though, if I ever catch you at a bot fight…" Tadashi’s voice trailed off, the warning clear.

"Oh yay, I’ll get another famous Tadashi patented lecture!" Hiro cried sarcastically.

"…No one likes a snarker, bonehead."

"Well, people must hate our family then."

~~~~~

"You didn’t have to drive us, Aunt Cass, I could’ve taken Hiro on my moped."

"Nonsense!" Aunt Cass stated as the high school came in sight, "I had to drive you guys today. After all, it’s our little man’s first day!"

"Whoo…" Hiro piped up, not even trying to fake enthusiasm.

The car came to a stop in front of the school, the yard packed with dozens of students greeting friends.

"Alright then, a new school year," Aunt Cass giggled, "Go knock those teachers off their feet, boys! Dazzle them with those brains!"

Tadashi and Hiro shared a grin at that before exiting the car.

"Oh, and Hiro?" Aunt Cass called.

Hiro stepped close to the lowered car window. Aunt Cass reached her arm over to lightly ruffle her younger nephew’s hair.

"You’ll be okay, right sweetie?" she asked with a soft smile.

Hiro returned the smile and nodded.

"I will…Thanks, Aunt Cass."

~~~~~

"And so, I hope you all welcome Mr. Hamada warmly!"

Hiro, who had been standing as stiff as a board, let out a sigh of relief when the principal who had been introducing him to his homeroom class finally left. He had thought the principal would just give him a short introduction. But no, the man had gone and given a lengthy speech on how smart Hiro was and about how he would be a great asset to the school and so on and so forth.

"You may take your seat now, Mr. Hamada," the homeroom teacher said.

"Y-yes, ma’am," Hiro answered in a small voice before heading towards the empty seat in the middle of the room.

The second he slumped into his chair, he heard the whispers of the other students start up.

“Eleven? He’s only eleven and starting high school?”

"Kid barely looks eight!"

"Is he really that smart? Maybe I can make him do my homework for me."

"Hamada…You think he’s related to that Tadashi guy?"

"Tadashi? The guy in charge of the robotics club?"

"Oh, I know him! I’ve seen him at the local karate dojo. The gorgeous guy with the brown belt!"

"As if that guy’s related to this kid. They don’t look much alike…But I think Tadashi’s the only other Hamada at this school, so maybe…"

As the whispers continued, Hiro stared at his desk, calculating how much force he’d need to hit his head against it with to crack his skull open.

~~~~~

If there was one thing Hiro hated most about school, it was how some of the other kids in his class wouldn’t stop talking about him. Especially when they were talking loudly enough that they had to know Hiro could hear them.

It was only day one and Hiro already had to deal with bullies…as usual. At least no one had gone and actually beaten him up yet. No, he’d just been called nasty names and shoved against the lockers and tripped in the hallways…the minor stuff, as he’d call it.

But then came lunch time.

"Hey, kid."

Hiro suppressed a groan as he turned around to see three much taller kids surrounding him, trapping him against his locker. The eleven year glanced down the hall, but no one was in sight. The late bell had rung just a few minutes ago, so almost everyone was either in class or at lunch, where Hiro was supposed to be heading.

"Can you guys not do…whatever you’re gonna do?” Hiro asked, half worried and half tired of having to deal with this kind of thing, “I’m hungry so I wanna get going before the lunch line gets too long.”

"Hey, we’re not doing anything," one of the guys sneered, "We just wanted to meet the famous Hiro Hamada everyone’s talking about."

"Why not take a picture, it’ll last longer…" Hiro muttered.

Hiro immediately regretted having inherited the Hamada family sarcasm as one of the bullies pushed him roughly against the locker, the bang ringing through the halls. Seriously, how had no one heard it?

"You think you’re a big shot just cause you’re so smart, huh?" another one of the trio asked, gripping Hiro by his shirt.

"I-I never said anything!" Hiro answered, trying to loosen the guy’s hand, "C’mon, guys, I just wanna go."

"What’s the big rush?" the tallest one of the trio asked as the three of them stepped closer, "Someone waiting for you?"

"Yes, actually."

The eleven year old was quickly released as the three older kids spun around to confront the owner of the voice. Hiro squeezed his way past the three bullies, smiling at the person glaring them down.

"Hiro, step over there for a minute," Tadashi ordered in a cold voice, gesturing towards a corner of the hall.

For once Hiro didn’t reply as he scrambled to follow his brother’s command. The second he got over to the corner, he saw Tadashi, who towered over the three bullies, step close to them and start speaking. He wasn’t yelling, so Hiro didn’t know what was being said, but he knew his brother well enough to know that Tadashi was furious. The piercing glare and the clenched fists were a dead giveaway.

After a couple minutes, the bullies went scrambling. Tadashi seemed to take several deep breaths before making his way over to Hiro, a worried look on his face.

"You’re not hurt, right?"

"Nah, you stopped them before anything happened," Hiro said.

Tadashi looked him over worriedly before pulling him in for a one armed hug.

"Aw, c’mon, bro!" Hiro struggled to get out of Tadashi’s grip, "It’s embarrassing!"

"I’m sorry this keeps happening," Tadashi told him when he finally let him go.

"It’s not your fault," Hiro replied.

The two stood there in awkward silence for a minute before Tadashi led Hiro to get lunch. On the walk there Tadashi was able to get a smile back on Hiro’s face by exchanging ideas for inventions and recalling some of their past projects, such as the rocket boots they had put on Mochi.

But by the time lunch ended and they had to split up again, Tadashi saw the slight fear on Hiro’s face. And when they met up in front of the school after the last bell had run, Hiro looked wearier than ever before.

~~~~~

"I’ll beat you one of these days!"

"Grow another foot and put some meat on those bones and then we’ll talk."

The Hamada brothers, covered in sweat and panting heavily, lied on the ground of the dojo where Tadashi was a student. The dojo was empty but Tadashi, as one of the top students and an assistant instructor, occasionally had access to the building. Hiro never took karate classes like Tadashi did but the boy had enough interest that Tadashi would sometimes bring him in for some private lessons. It made Tadashi feel better to know that his little brother had some defense skills, just in case.

After the rather harsh first day of high school Hiro had, Tadashi had dragged him over to the dojo to try and let off steam. It seemed to work well enough. If there was one thing that could distract Hiro, it was the boy’s competitiveness.

"Hey, Tadashi?" Hiro started, rolling over onto his stomach, "How do you stand school?”

"Well, I don’t mind it," Tadashi responded as he sat up.

"You don’t mind it because people think you’re cool. It overshadows your brainiac half."

"I also happen to enjoy coming to school, you know…"

"Spoken like a true nerd," Hiro sighed.

"I’m not the only nerd in this family, you brat," Tadashi chuckled, "…What about you?"

"The sooner I finish school, the better. I just wanna get my diploma and leave all of it behind me."

"No plans for college?"

Hiro let out a loud laugh. Tadashi frowned at the hint of bitterness in it.

"Forget it!" the eleven year old cried, "I’m done with all of that, Tadashi…I’m just…done."

~~~~~

Tadashi glanced at his watch as he raced his moped through the streets back to the café. He had lost track of time working on a project with the members of the robotics club. Before he knew it, it was already half past five…much later than when he was expected back. At least the streets near the café were empty for once.

As the café came into view, Tadashi hoped that Hiro, who Aunt Cass had picked up right after school ended, was stalling their aunt. As that thought went through his head, a pedestrian stepped out in front of him.

"Whoa!" Tadashi shouted, swerving the moped out of the way.

The pedestrian, an older gentleman, was startled, dropping his papers on the ground. Tadashi managed to just avoid the man and the papers, but the severe swerve caused some of his own books and papers to fall out of his bag and mix in with the gentleman’s. Tadashi was able to bring the vehicle to a screeching halt right by the sidewalk. He felt himself shaking, both from the near miss and the sudden swerve he took, but he couldn’t focus on himself at that moment. He jumped off the moped and tore his helmet off, dropping it on the ground before racing to the man, who was picking up the papers.

"I am so, so, so sorry!" Tadashi shouted, "Are you alright, sir?"

"There, there, no harm done," the man said in a calm tone, looking up at Tadashi with a smile, "I shouldn’t have crossed the street without looking, it was my fault."

"Sir, I was the one speeding," Tadashi argued gently before kneeling down, "Here, let me help pick these up for you."

"I appreciate it," the man replied, "It seems some of your things are mixed in here, so it might take a bit of time."

Tadashi and the gentleman worked quickly to pick up and sort out which paper or book belonged to who. While he felt it was an invasion of privacy, Tadashi couldn’t help but notice several of the man’s papers had information on nanotechnology, teleportation, and the occasional article about a man named Alistair Krei. Not odd, considering how many tech related jobs were in San Fransokyo but…

"My, you’re interested in robotics, young man?"

Tadashi looked over at the man, who was looking at an open book on the ground, which the seventeen year old quickly recognized as one of his notebooks.

"Yeah, I am," Tadashi replied, "My parents worked with robots, so I was around them a lot when I was a kid. I guess I’m following in their footsteps."

"Much like my own daughter," the man had a strange look in his eye at that, but it was gone almost immediately after Tadashi noticed it, "And what’s this interesting design?"

Tadashi scooted over and saw that the notebook had fallen open to page one of the secret project Tadashi was planning. The one that Hiro had tried to take a sneak peek at a couple months earlier. It wasn’t that Hiro wasn’t supposed to know about it. Tadashi just wanted to keep it a surprise until he actually had a chance to make it. After all, his parents always said that presentation of an invention was important. And there was also Hamada Bros Rule 457 to consider.

"Oh that!" Tadashi could feel the smile on his face growing already, "That’s a project I hope to do in the future."

"You can’t do it now?" the man asked.

"I’m still a senior in high school. Can’t afford the right equipment to make it work. So all I can do now is make up the designs and try and figure out the coding. It’s gonna be a tricky one, but I’m determined to make it!"

"I see…And what is ‘Baymax’ supposed to mean?"

"Heh, well…He just sorta looked like a Baymax," Tadashi laughed awkwardly.

"Well, I’ve heard stranger reasons behind names," the man chuckled, “‘A personal healthcare companion’?"

The man’s comment launched Tadashi on a passionate rant of all he envisioned for Baymax. He knew how many patients, especially younger ones, were terrified when they went to hospitals, much like Hiro’s nervousness whenever he got near them or doctors. Baymax was designed to have a gentle, huggable appearance that would put patients at ease. He would be built with all sorts of medical knowledge and procedures, with immense strength and a reassuring tone.

Tadashi hoped that if Baymax worked out, there could be one placed in every hospital, even more if possible. He hoped to also work on programming related to mental and emotional heath.

"Maybe I can even make it so that every family can have a Baymax!" Tadashi exclaimed, "In case of emergencies at home. I can devise a portable case so that he can be carried around. You know, in case of…car accidents…"

As Tadashi’s voice trailed off, he glanced over at the man, who was regarding the teenager curiously.

"I’m rambling, aren’t I?" Tadashi asked apologetically.

"You’re enthusiasm is quite refreshing," the man answered, "Once again, it reminds me of my Abigail."

The last of the papers and books were picked up and given to their rightful owner. Tadashi shook the man’s hand and started to apologize again.

"It’s quite alright, Mister…" the man’s voice was expectant.

"Tadashi Hamada, sir."

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hamada. I am Robert Callaghan."

Tadashi froze with shock at that, his grip on the man’s hand becoming tight.

"R-Robert Ca-Callaghan?" the teenager stuttered as the man pulled his hand out of Tadashi’s vicelike grip, "The Robert Callaghan? Creator of Callaghan’s Laws of Robotics? Head professor at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology?”

"Ah, so you’ve heard of me?" Callaghan sounded amused, "Yes, I’m that Callaghan. And I must say, from the stuff you’ve showed me, you have quite a bright future ahead of you in the robotics field, Mr. Hamada."

Tadashi could barely stammer out a thank you, too shocked at having finally met his idol.

"Well, I must get going," Callaghan said with a glance at his watch, "You said you’re a high school senior, correct? Well…I get the feeling we’ll be seeing each other again rather soon."

"…Y-y-yes, sir!" Tadashi responded.

It was only when he heard the door of the café slam open and Aunt Cass yell his name, Hiro saying he tried his best to distract her, that Tadashi finally went inside. And not even getting punished for being so grossly late dampened Tadashi’s mood.

Of course, Tadashi’s life got even better when, a couple days later, he received a letter from SFIT. A personal invitation to attend the prestigious technology college, straight from Professor Robert Callaghan himself.

~~~~~

Tadashi Hamada’s first day of college also marked Hiro’s first day as a senior at high school. Hiro had agreed to skip two grades, wanting nothing more than to get school over with.

Once school was out of the way, he’d be able to devote all of his time to his bots.

Megabot was the twelve year old’s personal favorite, the project he’d been working on steadily for the past three years. Hiro usually didn’t take so long to build a bot, but he wanted to make sure Megabot was all ready for action.

After all, he’d been interested in those bot battles he’d heard so much about.

Sometimes, when Hiro had too much free time on his hands and was bored, he’d wander around the neighborhood. A couple times, he saw some older kids having their bots fight in the street. Hiro, despite his poor history with fights, was actually really interested in fighting and action. He was the one who would grab all the blockbuster action flicks and the horror films off the shelves on movie night.

Soon, Hiro decided to take his prototype Megabot and test it out against the other kids’ bots. Of course, no one took him seriously, since he looked about three or four years younger than he actually was. But they were all staring with wide eyes, their jaws dropped, when his tiny, unassuming Megabot quickly trounced their robots.

Of course, such fighting was boring. The other kids never really made anything challenging for Hiro to go against.

And that was when he learned about the secret bot fights, the ones that paid good money. The ones that were one hundred percent illegal because of the betting factor and that Tadashi had warned him against several times.

But Hiro could definitely use the money to build bigger and better bots. And the thrill…He couldn’t possibly resist.

The first couple of fights didn’t go quite as well, partly because he wasn’t quite used to the jump in skill level of the bots the adults fought with but mostly because he kept getting thrown out for looking too young. But once he began sneaking in and got the hang of it, he was raking in the cash.

~~~~~

“ _What were you thinking_?!”

Hiro grumbled under his breath as he sat in his computer chair, a thoroughly furious Tadashi standing in front of him.

It had been an accident, honestly. He had been able to avoid getting caught for months. But the one time Tadashi got home early from college was when Hiro was sneaking back into their bedroom. It took a lot of prying but Hiro eventually admitted what he’d been doing…and Tadashi exploded.

"You could’ve been hurt!" his brother shouted. It was a good thing it was busy in the café at the moment or Aunt Cass probably would’ve been up in a heartbeat, "You could’ve been arrested! Or even worse!”

"I’ve been doing this for months, Tadashi," Hiro argued, "I’ve always gotten away just fine before."

"Yeah, but that luck of yours won’t last forever, Hiro! You’re not doing this again!"

"Unbelievable," Hiro scoffed, "You’re gonna stop me from doing something I’m good at."

"You’re good at so many things, Hiro!" Tadashi’s tone was pleading now, "Things that aren’t illegal. You can do so much better than this! Take my college, for example-"

"I don’t wanna hear about your stupid college again!" Hiro yelled as he got to his feet, shoving Tadashi away, "I don’t care! I’m not going to college, alright?"

"If you’re not going to college then please think of something better to do than bot fighting!”

"How about you leave me alone and let me do what I want? I’m thirteen now! It’s my life!”

"A life you’re wasting! I swear, Hiro, sometimes you’re so-"

"What?" Hiro asked, glaring at his brother, "Go on, tell me."

Tadashi, who had tossed his hat off earlier in the argument, growled as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"You’re not going to anymore of those fights, end of discussion," he stated firmly.

"You’re not the boss of me," Hiro retorted.

"Oh, nice comeback," Tadashi snarked.

"…I’m gonna keep going, whether you like it or not," Hiro said.

"I forbid you to-"

"Stop, already! Stop acting like you’re a parent! You’re not Mom and Dad!”

The silence that followed hit Hiro hard. He saw the shock register on Tadashi’s face, followed by the hurt.

He shouldn’t have said that. Why did he?

"T-Tadashi…" Hiro stuttered, reaching a hand out.

Tadashi ignored the hand, heading towards the door.

"…I’m gonna help Aunt Cass," he said in a barely audible tone, "You stay here for a while."

Hiro stared at the door long after Tadashi left.

~~~~~

He knew…Tadashi knew very well he wasn’t like his parents. And he had no right to be.

But the idea of Hiro getting hurt or…or…He didn’t even want to think about it.

He wasn’t living up to the promise he made. Hiro didn’t know it, but Tadashi still bitterly regretted what he had done the day their parents died. And it was because of his childishness that day that he swore he’d be a proper big brother to Hiro. Maybe then his parents would forgive him…

But it seemed he was failing terribly…

~~~~~

Dinner had been a tension filled affair, with neither brother speaking to each other. Aunt Cass kept trying to start up a conversation with her nephews, but the pair didn’t have much to say. Sometimes they would look at each other for a couple seconds, before quickly turning their gaze back to their food.

A couple hours later, Hiro went to bed, but he only faked being asleep. A little while later, Tadashi came in and, after a few minutes, shut off the lights before going to his own bed. Hiro waited for a few tense minutes before he found the strength to speak.

"Tadashi?"

Silence.

"…I know you’re not asleep yet."

More silence. Hiro got out of his bed and walked across the cold floor over to Tadashi’s bed. Tadashi was on his side, facing away from Hiro. The thirteen year old crawled onto the bed, sitting on it cross-legged.

"Tadashi?" he called once again, putting a hand on Tadashi’s shoulder. He felt his brother twitch beneath his hand, "…I’m really sorry…I didn’t mean it."

Tadashi wasn’t answering. Hiro gulped, wondering just how angry his big brother was about his stupid words.

"I don’t even remember Mom and Dad," Hiro continued, waiting for some response, "How can I know if you’re like them or not? …But I think you’re doing a good job being a big brother. You’re worried about me, you help me out, we hang out together. I’ve seen other people’s big brothers be giant jerks to them. I really, really, really lucked out having you as my brother, Tadashi.”

Hiro was momentarily surprised when Tadashi suddenly sat up, turning to face him with a tired grin on his face.

"…Trying to butter me up, bonehead?" Tadashi asked playfully, "This mean you’ll stay away from bot fights?"

"…Yes," Hiro didn’t look at Tadashi when he said that.

"Liar," his brother chuckled.

After a moment, Tadashi wrapped an arm around Hiro’s neck and pulled him close to give him a noogie. Hiro laughed and flailed his arms trying to get Tadashi to stop, which he eventually did.

"…Thanks anyways, Hiro…That…really means a lot to me. You have no idea."

"Hey, don’t get all sappy on me…"

~~~~~

"Unbelievable!"

The other members in the SFIT lab jumped at Tadashi’s sudden yell. The now twenty year old was glaring at a device in his hand, a tracker.

After catching Hiro that day a year ago, it had been constant arguments between the two, though none as bad as that first one to be honest. Hiro usually did end up coming back safely from the bot fights, but Tadashi was certain the fourteen year old’s luck would run out real soon.

And run out it did. Sometimes Hiro would come back with a few scratches and bruises he tried to hide. It was when he came back with the black eye that Tadashi had enough. He couldn’t stop Hiro from going to the bot fights without turning his brother into a prisoner in his own home.

So he’d do the next best thing…Make sure he got back safely.

It was kinda too much, but he honestly had no other option. Tadashi sewed tiny GPS trackers into all of Hiro’s hoodies and t-shirts. He also made sure to keep an ear out for news of any bot fights going on in the area. Once he saw Hiro heading out to some of the shadier parts of San Fransokyo on his tracking device, he’d be out there soon enough, usually getting Hiro away just in time.

"I dragged him from a bot fight just yesterday and he’s gone to another one!" Tadashi shouted, glaring at the tracker.

The others in the lab, Gogo Tomago, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and Fred, all shared knowing looks as Tadashi ranted about his brother while packing his stuff to go and pick up the kid.

The four had been Tadashi’s best friends since his first year at SFIT. Fred had been the one he met first, in a rather painful way. Fred, in his mascot gear, had startled an already nervous Tadashi badly, causing Tadashi to react with a kick. Fred ended up taking it quite well and he introduced Tadashi to Gogo, Wasabi, and Honey, explaining the stories behind the interesting nicknames along the way. The group of five quickly became the best of friends. And the other four soon became the victims of Tadashi’s rants about his baby brother.

"Man, I’m kinda glad I’m an only child," Fred laughed, "I’d get tired of chasing after my little bro if he kept doing this."

"You sure that brother of yours knows how much trouble he can get in if he’s caught?" Wasabi asked, cleaning his tools and placing them in their proper spots on his table, "Juvie does not sound like a fun place to be.”

"He won’t listen!" Tadashi replied, stuffing the last of his notes in his bag before putting it on and marching towards the door.

"That Hiro’s some rebel," Gogo chuckled, "I wanna meet him."

"Don’t encourage this behavior, Gogo," Tadashi growled.

"But she’s right, Tadashi!" Honey exclaimed, her hair bouncing as she hopped in place from excitement, "We’ve never met little Hiro yet! He must be such a cutie!"

Tadashi paused at the doorway.

…Hiro had never met his friends…Tadashi was usually busy at SFIT, especially ever since Baymax started working properly. Hiro was usually out and about doing something or other, and he had no interest in going near Tadashi’s “nerd school”.

But if Hiro could actually see SFIT…And see how everyone works here…

"I think I got an idea…" Tadashi whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 is up next, meaning we get to enter AU land~! Hope you guys enjoy it! The FFN and Tumblr readers did...And they have never let me live it down yet.
> 
> Please keep reading and reviewing!


	4. Burned Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohh, here we are! The chapter that's gonna spring us into AU territory! Now, I have a request. To anyone who leaves a review, if the AU isn't what you expected, please tell me in the review what kind of AU you thought I was going to do. I'm just curious. Anyways, let's get into the story! P.S.: I apologize ahead of time, and that's all I'll say.
> 
> Disclaimer: Nope, not owning this movie or its characters.

It had been a miracle that Tadashi had managed to skid into the alley right before Hiro was pummeled by men twice his size. While part of him wanted Yama and his gang to know exactly how he felt about a bunch of grown men trying to beat up a fourteen year old, especially his little brother, Tadashi knew he had better things to worry about.

Finding an escape route for one thing.

As the moped twisted and turned and swerved and screeched, Tadashi made sure to shout his lecture at Hiro all the while. He reached back and added in a few smacks for good measure. Hey, the kid said he wasn’t hurt so it wasn’t like Tadashi was adding to his pain.

It bugged him that Hiro seemed so carefree about the whole issue. When the moped went flying off the ramp, Tadashi glanced back to see Hiro grinning at his reflection in the windows. Seriously, did Hiro not understand the trouble he was in? That both of them would be in if Yama caught up with them?

Of course, Yama was the least of their worries. Trust Hiro’s luck to get the two of them right into the path of a bunch of police officers…while Hiro was holding a wad of money.

At least the other people from the bot fight had been arrested and were being transported to the station too, there was that. Tadashi and Hiro lucked out and got a squad car all to themselves, if you could consider that lucky.

And that’s where the brothers were, seated in the backseat of a police car on their way to the holding cells. Hiro kept looking over at Tadashi with a sheepish smile but the twenty year old kept glaring straight ahead. Part of him wished the officer wasn’t there so he could smack Hiro’s head a couple extra times. For a kid with such a big brain, his little brother could be such a doofus.

"Bot fighting, huh?" the officer asked, a somewhat amused smile on his face, "The big guy, I understand. But what about you, shrimp? How old are you, ten? Eleven?"

"I’m fourteen," Hiro muttered.

“Sure you are.”

Hiro grumbled under his breath, causing a brief smirk to appear on Tadashi’s face. His brother always was annoyed about being so short for his age.

Tadashi saw the officer’s eyes reflected in the rearview mirror, glancing between him and Hiro.

"You two related?" the officer asked.

"He’s my brother," Tadashi stated, giving Hiro a look which caused the younger boy to stare down at the ground.

"Some big bro you are, dragging your kid brother to an underground bot fight," the officer growled.

"Hey, I had no role in this!" Tadashi argued.

"He really didn’t, officer," Hiro piped up, "I was the one bot fighting, he just-"

"It’s alright, kid, no need to defend your bro," the officer interrupted Hiro gently before asking Tadashi harshly, "Alright, cap boy, how old are you?”

"Twenty," Tadashi responded, adjusting his hat self-consciously.

"Well, then you get to join all your bot fighting pals in a special cell!"

~~~~~

"Tadashi?"

Silence.

"Hey, Tadashi?"

More silence.

"Hey, c’mon, I’m sorry."

Tadashi didn’t respond once to Hiro. He simply continued to glare at his little brother, who as a minor had a giant cell all to himself, while he got to join all the other adult bot fighters in a very cramped cell opposite Hiro’s. Tadashi was pressed up against the bars, which he gripped tightly. He ignored the uncomfortable closeness of his cellmates by glaring at Hiro.

When they got to the station, it took a lot of arguing but Tadashi finally managed to convince the officers that he had not been bot fighting. He also lied a little, despite how guilty he felt about that, and managed to get Hiro out of trouble, stating his brother was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hiro managed to add in the convincing childlike innocence expression to really sell the lie. And it wasn’t like the officers were going to believe anything the other bot fighters, many of whom were repeat offenders, said.

But the boys still had to hang out in the cells until Aunt Cass came to pick them up. Why Tadashi couldn’t just grab his moped, which had been confiscated, and go, he didn’t know…

"C’mon, Tadashi, talk to me," Hiro pleaded from where he sat in his cell, kicking his legs.

Tadashi only huffed in response.

"You can’t ignore me forever, you know! We live together, so you gotta talk to me eventually!"

Tadashi kept up the silent treatment.

"C’mon, Tadashi!" Hiro cried, getting up and standing near the bars of his cell, "I really am sorry!”

"I’m not talking to you,” Tadashi finally responded in a strict tone.

"Hey, c’mon, buddy, give the kid a break!" a guy somewhere in the back of Tadashi’s cell called out.

"Yeah, the poor boy’s apologized a bunch already!" another voice from right behind him added.

"I’m not talking to any of you either!" Tadashi yelled.

"Hey, quiet down there!" and officer shouted down the hall.

~~~~~

One would think after the awkward ride home and the rant/lecture Aunt Cass gave that Hiro would know better. But nope, Tadashi saw that the kid was all set to attend yet another bot fight.

So Tadashi finally set his little plan in motion. He managed to convince Hiro into thinking he would escort him to the bot fight. It wasn’t too hard, considering that he’d done his fair share of that over the years to get Hiro to eat his vegetables, do his homework, and so on. And so they were on his moped, thankfully returned to him by the police in good condition.

Hiro had been rambling on about bot fights for the first few minutes of the ride. Tadashi had to admit, they did sound pretty interesting. He could see how those fights would draw Hiro to them. Moths to a flame, and all that jazz…But he couldn’t have his brother wasting all his potential at those fights anymore. He couldn’t have Hiro constantly getting himself in danger.

He could never forgive himself if he didn’t put an end to this recklessness.

After a few more twists and turns, Hiro still didn’t seem to figure out that they were heading away from the fight. Tadashi felt his brother’s arms tighten around him as Hiro pressed himself against his back.

"Tadashi?" Hiro’s voice came quietly, "…Seriously, I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to get you in trouble."

"…It’s fine," Tadashi replied, "Not like I wasn’t expecting something like that to happen eventually."

"If you hadn’t gotten us out of trouble…" Hiro started apprehensively, "…Would you have hated me?"

Tadashi flinched at the unexpected question. It had been a long time since he heard Hiro sound so vulnerable.

"Hiro Hamada, you listen to me," he said firmly. He had to make sure Hiro understood, "We fight a lot. We get mad at each other a bunch. We won’t always see eye to eye. But you’re my little brother. And I’ll always love you."

"Ugh," Hiro groaned, "Don’t go all mushy on me!"

Tadashi smiled at the hint of relief hidden in Hiro’s voice.

"Hey, a little mush is good now and then!" Tadashi retorted, "Alright, I said it, now it’s your turn!"

"Gross, I’m not saying it! I have some dignity!”

"Hey, c’mon, you used to say it a bunch when you were younger!"

"Shut up! I’m not saying it!"

"You know you wanna."

"I don’t-Wait, where are we going?"

~~~~~

It had worked like a dream. Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, and Fred had all managed to charm Hiro with their personalities and their inventions, or charming weirdness in Fred’s case. Tadashi couldn’t hold back his smiles as Hiro walked around the inventions, practically in a daze. He knew the fourteen year old dreamed of making great things, but never had the equipment or money to do them. The bot fighting was Hiro’s way of saving up for that.

But here were a bunch of students who had access to what they needed. Who were using their intelligence to go beyond the boundaries of average robotics. And, more than anything, Tadashi wanted his brother to be one of those students.

Hiro had responded to Baymax quite well. Tadashi was quite proud to finally show off the project he’d planned and worked on for years. It had been hard keeping Baymax a secret for so long, especially on days when Baymax’s malfunctions were especially bad. Tadashi still couldn’t believe he managed to dodge questions about the time he came home with a black eye.

It had been amazing to see Hiro’s interest in Baymax. Hiro didn’t know it, but it had been the fourteen year old who had inspired Baymax’s creation. Hiro’s deep set fear of hospitals had caused Tadashi to start to think about all the people in the world who must be afraid of doctors and hospitals and the like. What if those people had a gentle companion there with them? One that could perform thousands upon thousands of medical procedures while still providing the patient with a sense of ease?

Of course, Tadashi still hadn’t programmed in functions regarding mental and emotional health yet, but he was working on it steadily.

Luck had it that Professor Callaghan had stopped by, allowing Hiro to meet their shared idol. Tadashi held back a laugh at how similarly Hiro reacted to Callaghan as he himself had a couple years earlier.

All the pieces had fallen into place. Hiro was finally set on attending SFIT. Tadashi’s worries could finally be done and over with.

~~~~~

"You could’ve made me hurl, you know? Dangling me by the legs like that."

"It got that brain of yours working, didn’t it?" Tadashi retorted, grinning as he watched his brother drawing and writing on paper after paper, "So…microbots, huh?"

"Yeah!" Hiro exclaimed, not lifting his eyes from his work, "Thousands and thousands of them. They’re little and they wouldn’t be much alone. But together? They could do so much!"

"Like?"

At that prompt, Hiro seemed to pause. Tadashi went over to him and saw a puzzled expression on his brother’s face.

"C’mon, Hiro, don’t tell me you didn’t think that far ahead," Tadashi chuckled, "An invention means nothing without purpose. Baymax would just be a giant marshmallow that walks and talks if his purpose wasn’t to be a healthcare companion."

Hiro crossed his arms and adopted his usual thinking expression.

"Well…" the fourteen year old started slowly, "I guess…it’s whatever you imagine."

Tadashi was a bit confused before Hiro jumped up and started pacing the room.

"Yeah…" Hiro was nodding, "You think it, you can do it! Like…Like transportation! O-or maybe construction! Lifting heavy objects…The possibilities are only as limited as your imagination!"

As Hiro rambled on and on, Tadashi took a seat in Hiro’s chair, watching his brother fondly. It had been a long time since he had seen Hiro so excited, filled with so much passion.

"So…" Tadashi cut off Hiro’s speech gently, "You wanna help the world."

"…That’s what these microbots can do," Hiro replied, "You’re the one who really wants to help the world though.”

"Mom and Dad wanted to help the world too," Tadashi responded, "I guess it’s a Hamada thing."

Hiro had a strange look on his face at that. He took a couple steps closer.

"Tadashi? …Can you tell me some stories about them? Mom and Dad?"

To say Tadashi was surprised by that was an understatement. Back when Hiro was three, after the accident, the boy would ask for their parents all the time. After a while, the questions died down before eventually stopping. Hiro didn’t ever seem to care much for what their parents were like, even when he could no longer remember them. Tadashi had been worried that Hiro had chosen to forget about their parents.

"You think they’d be happy about this?" Hiro asked nervously.

Tadashi stood up and made his way over to Hiro. He ruffled his brother’s hair lightly, a grin on his face.

"I think they’d be pretty proud of you," Tadashi told him sincerely, "You may be a bonehead but you’ve grown up to be a good kid, Hiro."

"You’re not that bad either," Hiro gently pushed Tadashi’s hand off, "When you’re not nagging me, you’re kinda cool for a nerd. Mom and Dad would probably be proud of you too."

…He hoped so. Tadashi really hoped so.

"Well, if you wanna hear about them, better take a seat. I’ve got a bunch of good stories to tell."

~~~~~

"That brother of yours working hard, Mr. Hamada?"

Tadashi turned away from his computer, where he was still working on the mental health program for Baymax. Professor Callaghan was at the door.

"Yeah, Hiro’s really excited for the showcase, Professor," Tadashi answered, "First time in a while I’ve ever seen him interested in something school related."

"My Abigail was very similar," Callaghan stated, a wistful expression on his face, "Loved bot fighting. It took a little prodding before she became interested in going to college."

Tadashi knew better than to say anything about that. While he didn’t know the whole story, he knew that Professor Callaghan had lost his only child, Abigail, in some accident a few years earlier. From the mentions the professor had made of his daughter, she reminded Tadashi of Hiro.

"I have to thank you again, Professor Callaghan," Tadashi said, "Your words gave Hiro the extra push he needed to decide to come here."

"Well, I’m sure young Hiro will be a fine addition to this school," Callaghan said with a nod, "A boy with a mind like that can change the world."

"Yeah, I know he can."

~~~~~

Tadashi had to resist the urge to take out his phone and snap some pictures of the sight in front of him.

Hiro was fast asleep atop several trashcans full of his microbots. Tadashi didn’t blame him, knowing the kid had been staying up late for several days in order to get the project completed in time for the showcase. But it wasn’t like he was doing it alone. Tadashi, Gogo, Honey, Wasabi, and Fred all helped out one way or another, though Hiro insisted that most of the work be left to him.

"Honey, I don’t think Hiro will appreciate that," Tadashi warned.

Honey had squealed at the sight of Hiro and immediately went over to take several pictures.

"Oh, but look at him!" Honey whispered, "He’s so precious! I’ll send you a copy of the pictures!"

"Well, in that case…"

Gogo wheeled in another trashcan and looked over at Hiro.

"Kid really is tiny, isn’t he?" she asked, popping her bubblegum, "Can’t believe he’s gonna be a student."

"Finally!" was all Tadashi could say in reply to that.

"Man, when you said Hiro was smart, I didn’t expect him to be this smart, Tadashi!” Wasabi stated, “Fourteen years old and he could give the professors a run for their money.”

"Speaking of Hiro," Fred stated, "Tell us more about him, Tadashi. The kid’s still too shy to really talk to us."

"What can I say?" Tadashi asked, "He loves robots, action and horror movies, gummy candy. Oh, and if you ever plan on taking him anywhere that sells wings, you’d better have a lot of cash on you."

"So, is he the clingy little brother type?" Gogo asked next, a smirk on her face.

"…Hasn’t been like that in years," Tadashi sighed.

He and Hiro really were attached at the hip when they were little. Of course they were still pretty close, much closer than brothers usually were as they got older. But Tadashi had been aware of some kind of wall between them ever since he went to SFIT and Hiro did his bot fighting.

But perhaps going to college together would erase that wall between them…

"Hey, Tadashi," Fred said, "We know you love your bro but you ever feel jealous of him? Seriously, this kid’s brains are on a whole other level, even compared to yours."

"Fred!" Gogo, Wasabi, and Honey all hissed.

"No guys, he’s right," Tadashi leaned against the nearby table, "To be honest, I’ve always felt a bit jealous of Hiro ever since we were kids. Especially when we learned just how smart he was. Half of the stuff he could come up with, I couldn’t follow. It was quite the blow to have a brother six years younger be so much smarter than you."

He chuckled to himself as the memories flooded his mind.

"I remember competing with him a bunch. Not that Hiro ever knew I was trying to compete with him, it was just all in my head. When Hiro completed one robotics kit in a day, I tried to finish two. When he memorized the contents of a book in a week, I tried to do the same in a day. Of course, that one didn’t go over so well."

Tadashi glanced over at the still sleeping Hiro fondly.

"It’s hard not to be jealous of a brother like him…But it’s even harder not to be proud of what a guy he is."

Snap!

"Honey, stop taking pictures of this…"

~~~~~

"You never told me…"

It was finally the night of the big showcase. Tadashi, who had been straightening out his clothes, glanced over at Hiro, who had been trying to no avail to flatten his ever poofy hair.

"What do you mean?" Tadashi asked in response to Hiro’s weird statement.

Hiro turned to face him, a frown on his face and his nose scrunched up.

"You never told me you were jealous of me," Hiro explained.

"What’re you…?" Tadashi started to ask before realizing, "Wait…That day a week ago…You were awake?"

"I wanted to tell Honey that if she wanted to take pictures she should turn off the flash," Hiro responded, "But then you guys started talking. I thought if you knew I was awake you’d stop."

"Hiro, you know I-"

"I know what you’re going to say," Hiro cut in, "But you still could’ve told me, you know."

"Listen, I was a bit jealous back then," Tadashi said, "I’m still a bit jealous now. But, like I said that day, I’m proud of you above all else."

"I know that."

"So why do you still look bothered?"

"I’m not!" Hiro said. The fourteen year old growled, finally giving up on his hair, before grabbing his hoodie, "Let’s just get going. I got a SFIT invitation with my name on it."

~~~~~

The showcase had been a spectacular success, just as Tadashi had predicted. Hiro, while he’d been nervous at first, managed to charm the crowd and wow them with just what his microbots could do. Tadashi spotted Professor Callaghan looking taken aback by the bots. To think his little brother had managed to surprise a top roboticist…And Hiro even refused Alistair Krei’s offer to buy the microbots. Tadashi didn’t want to think about what a guy like Krei would do with his brother’s invention. Professor Callaghan seemed to feel the same way, disgust in his tone as he tried to get Krei to back off.

But it was all done…Hiro had his ticket to college, where that big brain of his could invent and change the world for the better.

After they left the exhibition hall, Tadashi pulled Hiro away from the group to have a private talk with him. He chuckled when Hiro embarrassedly zipped up his fly.

"Seriously, good job," Tadashi grinned, "And welcome to nerd school, you little nerd."

Hiro snorted at that.

"Hey, Tadashi, I wanna thank you," Hiro said shyly, "I mean, thanks for…you know…"

"Being a nagging mother hen?" Tadashi suggested.

"Took the words right out of my mouth!" Hiro responded.

The brother shared a snicker at that.

"By the way," Hiro said, reaching into his pocket, "I found this weird thing in our room. I was waiting until after the showcase to show you. You recognize it?"

Tadashi felt his heart plummet as Hiro pulled out the GPS tracker.

"Umm…That’s…"

"A tracker, right?" Hiro interrupted, unaware of his brother’s distress, "Weird. I don’t have one. What’s it doing in our room?"

"Hiro, maybe you should-" Tadashi didn’t know what he was going to say because Hiro had turned it on, the machine emitting a small beep.

"Hey, look, there’s a dot on it!" Hiro exclaimed, "Huh…It seems to be around where we are…I wonder where?"

Hiro started walking a few steps away before stopping with a puzzled look on his face.

"Hey, that’s weird. According to the tracker, the dot moved…"

Hiro took a few more steps.

"It’s moving again!"

"Hiro…" Tadashi called out.

"Weird, the dot keeps moving whenever…I…"

Hiro seemed to freeze and Tadashi knew he had suddenly figured it out. The fourteen year old turned to glare at Tadashi.

“Dude!” Hiro cried, “This is yours, isn’t it?”

"…How else do you think I’ve found you at all those bot fights?"

Tadashi hated himself for making Hiro have that look of betrayal on his face.

"How many of my clothes have you put a tracker in?" Hiro asked furiously, "No, don’t tell me, I don’t think I wanna know!"

"Hiro, I knew I couldn’t stop you from going to those bot fights!" Tadashi shouted in return, "At least this way I could get to you before you got into any big trouble!"

"Oh, well then that makes all of this okay!" Hiro yelled sarcastically, "Honestly, you are so-"

"I’m so what?” Tadashi interrupted.

"You’re…"

Hiro’s voice trailed off as the fourteen year old looked at his jacket pocket curiously. Tadashi could only watch with confusion as Hiro reached into his pocket and pulled out something. The twenty year old couldn’t see what Hiro was looking at so bewilderedly in his hand.

"Why is it…?" Tadashi heard Hiro mutter in a small voice.

"Hiro?"

Hiro clenched whatever was in his hand tightly and looked over at Tadashi.

"I need to go back to the exhibition hall for a bit," he said as he started walking away.

"Aunt Cass and the others are waiting," Tadashi called.

"You wait with them then! I’ll be back in a few minutes…And we’re not done talking about that stupid tracker, Tadashi!"

"Hiro!" Tadashi yelled, but his brother was already running back to the hall.

Tadashi sighed as he made his way back to the parking lot where the others were waiting. He had some explaining to do when Hiro got back, but he hoped his little brother would understand. He just didn’t want anything bad to happen to Hiro. And nothing would…He’d make sure of it.

~~~~~

The group had been clustered around the van for two or three minutes when they heard distant screaming. They stared as they saw clusters of people running and what seemed like smoke in the distance.

"The exhibition hall’s on fire!" they heard someone yell.

"Fire?" Aunt Cass repeated, "That’s terrible! I wonder if everyone’s-Tadashi?"

The group looked at Tadashi, who was staring at the smoke in horror.

The exhibition hall was on fire? The exhibition hall…

“Hiro,” he whispered before he took off sprinting.

He shoved past throngs of panicked people, trying desperately to get to the exhibition hall. As his lungs burned and he panted, his mind was screaming the same sentence over and over.

 _Not Hiro. Not Hiro. Not Hiro. Not Hiro. Not Hiro_!

"Please no," he gasped as he drew nearer and nearer to his destination, "Not him too…"

Finally, the exhibition hall was in his line of sight. And Tadashi froze in place.

It was an inferno. The orange flames seemed to completely envelop the building. Despite how far away he was standing, Tadashi could still feel the intense heat. He coughed at the smell of the thick smoke.

He looked around, hoping against hope, but he didn’t see that familiar little kid with the bird’s nest for hair…Hiro was still inside the hall.

"Professor Callaghan’s still inside!" a woman yelled.

"No, no, no…” Tadashi mumbled, his legs shaking.

Hiro and the professor were both still stuck in there? This was a nightmare…This couldn’t be happening.

Tadashi gritted his teeth as he raced forward, determined to dive through those flames and search, no matter how much he was burned, until he found them.

But, suddenly, Tadashi was being held back by a few pairs of arms.

"Let me go!" he yelled, struggling against the three people holding him back.

"Are you nuts?" one of the three shouted, "It’s too dangerous!"

"Wait for the firefighters!" another added, "They’ll save the professor!"

“My little brother is in there!” Tadashi screamed.

The shock of that statement loosened their grip just enough for Tadashi to tear himself away and continue racing towards the building. He was almost there. Almost-

BOOM!

An explosion ripped through the exhibition hall, the force of the blast throwing Tadashi back several feet before he slammed hard into the ground, his head hitting the concrete.

The roar of the fire died away. He couldn’t hear the screams of the crowd anymore. Tadashi tried to shakily get back up, only to fall onto his knees, his vision blurring. Before he fell forward and his world turned dark, he had just enough energy left…Just enough to scream.

“ _ **HIRO**_!!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done! And let me officially welcome you to AU land!
> 
> Now, you may be asking yourselves, "Did she really just write three and three quarters worth of chapters that added further development to Tadashi and Hiro and their brotherhood, just to kill off Hiro?" To that I say, hell yeah I did! I'm getting in touch with my sadistic author side. To be fair, the fact that so much of these chapters were done in Tadashi's POV should've set off some warning bells. And if you go back and reread the previous chapters, there are some hints that things were going to go down this way. And yes, this is my guilty pleasure AU. An AU in which a person who died lived while another who was that person's loved one was the one who died that way. I have a sick interest in this AU, despite the fact that it makes my heart hurt.
> 
> What's that? Oh, you were expecting an AU in which both brothers lived or something? HAHAHAHAHA-No. Mama doesn't play like that. Actually I would, but this was the story I thought up and really got into first so hey. I also have a policy that if I have a character who died in canon live in my story, I have to make that character suffer. You don't get a second chance at life without pain and suffering in my AUs, no matter how much I love the characters!
> 
> Hey, just be glad I didn't go with my very first idea for a Big Hero 6 story in which I would've ended this chapter killing off both brothers and then gone with the rest of the story being Gogo, Honey, Wasabi, and Fred taking on Yokai. I quickly got bored of that one, so I decided on this delicious tale.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you keep reading and reviewing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be hiding and waiting for the angry mob that's probably out for my blood now. Toodles~!


	5. It Hurts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is one of the chapters in which I will using that italics coding. I mean, it's not hard or anything, but it's tedious. So I'll only use it for flashbacks and/or moments in which I definitely need the emphasis. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Still not owning Big Hero 6. That hasn't changed the past hour or so.

_“It hurts!”_

_Hiro wailed loudly, clutching his knee. The scrape the child had gotten when he fell during the game of hide and seek with his big brother didn’t look too bad, a little bit of blood but nothing more. However, Tadashi figured it must have stung quite a bit._

_“Don’t worry, Hiro,” Tadashi said soothingly as he sat the three year old on a nearby park bench, “I’ll take care of you.”_

_Hiro sobbed as Tadashi searched his pockets, always filled with tissues and bandages for whenever Hiro got himself into trouble, which was most of the time._

_“Okay, Hiro, so tell me…” Tadashi started as he pulled out a tissue, “On a scale of one to ten, how bad does it hurt?”_

_"…A billion,” Hiro sniffled._

_“Hiro…” Tadashi began to gently wipe away the blood and dirt around the wound as his brother winced now and then, “You sure about that?”_

_The three year old nodded emphatically, causing nine year old Tadashi to let out a chuckle._

_“Well then, if it’s a billion…” Tadashi pulled out a bandage covered in pictures of bots of different colors, “Only this can help you!”_

_Tadashi saw Hiro’s eyes light up at the sight of his favorite bandage. The nine year quickly applied the bandage, which Hiro stared at and poked._

_“Feeling better?” Tadashi asked._

_“Yeah,” Hiro answered, wiping away some tears that still fell from his eyes._

_“And since you were such a good patient, you get this!”_

_Tadashi laughed as Hiro brightened up at the sight of the lollipop. Tadashi made sure to always carry a few on hand. They were a sure fire way to get his baby brother to smile again._

~~~~~

Tadashi had some scrapes and bruises across his body from being thrown back by the explosion. But it was the blow to the head that landed him in the hospital.

A concussion, the doctors said. A minor one that should be all healed up within a couple of days. Aunt Cass had Tadashi stay at the hospital since he was pretty disoriented from the blast. Tadashi didn’t want to, something inside him screaming that something was wrong but his memory wasn’t cooperating with him. It took Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, and Fred pleading with him to convince him to stay at the hospital.

As expected, he did heal up quickly. The second he did, the memories of that horrible night came racing back. He demanded to know what hospital room Hiro was in, how bad were his injuries, when would he be healed up. Tadashi got up, ready to head out and search the hospital room by room, when Aunt Cass didn’t answer.

He remained frozen in place though when Aunt Cass got close to him, fresh tears washing over the tracks that covered her cheeks.

He knew…But he couldn’t accept it…It wasn’t right, none of this was. Hiro had gotten accepted into college. They were going to celebrate! Tadashi had been congratulating him…They had gotten into an argument, but that was going to all be cleared up. It was just a nightmare…A nightmare, that’s all.

Hiro was fourteen years old…Just fourteen. This wasn’t true! This wasn’t happening!

Aunt Cass held out a scrap of cloth that had a pocket on it…Cloth from the hoodie Hiro had worn that night.

Several doctors and nurses scrambled into the room at the sound of piercing screams.

~~~~~

_For three months following the accident, Tadashi and Hiro slept in the same bed._

_Hiro would have reoccurring nightmares of loud booms and yells and dangling upside down from his car seat and strange people taking him away from his mommy and daddy, who weren’t answering any of his cries. Tadashi needed Hiro by his side, both for comfort and to remind him that he hadn’t lost everyone; that he wouldn’t wake up to a life without Hiro as well._

~~~~~

Children shouldn’t be buried. Kids died all over the world, that was a fact. But it shouldn’t happen. No one should have to attend a funeral for a child.

No one should have to bury a fourteen year old child…Not his brother.

But there wasn’t anything to bury. Searches were done for so long, but other than a few scraps of cloth, no remains of Hiro Hamada were found. No one could find even that much for Professor Callaghan. That fire…That explosion had wiped both their lives into nothingness.

A fourteen year old boy with black hair that was constantly messy, bright brown eyes that sparkled with mischievousness, a smile that revealed a slight gap in his teeth, and a brain of a child prodigy who could offer so much to the world. Sarcastic, rebellious, intelligent, a dork, loved action, loved wings, loved gummy candy, loved to build, hated school but that was about to change, he was accepted to SFIT…

Hiro Hamada was that and so much more.

But in one night all that was left of him were a few pieces of clothing.

~~~~~

_“And so, in conclusion…Wait, no, I’ve said ‘and so’ too many times already…Without further to do…No, that sounds stupid…Maybe I should just say ‘in conclusion’? Gah!”_

_“Talking to yourself, Tadashi? College already getting to you?”_

_Tadashi gave Hiro a look as the thirteen year old came into the bedroom, an amused smirk on his little brother’s face._

_“I’m practicing my speech actually,” Tadashi responded, holding up the papers in his hand, “At the end of year, the school president chooses the freshman who has shown the most promise to give a speech to the student and staff about the future of robotics.”_

_“So you were elected president of the nerds?” Hiro asked._

_“That’s king of the nerds to you,” Tadashi retorted with a playful shove, “I need to make a good impression with this speech, but it’s hard.”_

_“Practice on me!” Hiro suggested as he plopped onto Tadashi’s bed, “You have my undivided attention.”_

_Tadashi smirked at the overly serious face Hiro was making before taking up his brother on his offer._

_“Okay then,” Tadashi said, taking in a deep breath to prepare himself, “Good evening, everyone. My name is Tadashi Hamada and-“_

_“Boo!”_

_“Hiro…”_

_“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself…”_

~~~~~

As the older brother, it was expected of him to say something at the services. Aunt Cass told him he didn’t need to, but Tadashi insisted. He would give Hiro a speech worthy of his little brother.

His legs locked up when he stood at the podium, staring out at the small group of mourners. Hiro deserved to have more people attend his funeral. But Tadashi also didn’t want a crowd of people coming to the funeral of someone they only knew as one of the two victims of that tragic fire.

Tadashi’s throat was dry and he had to pause several times in his speech when his voice just gave out. He reached into his suit pocket, fingers grazing across that piece of cloth Aunt Cass had shown him in the hospital. It was his now…

He stumbled through the last few sentences of his speech before excusing himself, rushing into the bathroom. He trembled as his legs gave out and he slid to the ground. He pulled his knees close to his chest and pressed his face against them.

Tadashi was thankful everyone gave him an hour before they sent someone to search for him.

~~~~~

_“Pick me up, Aunt Cass!” Hiro cried, reaching his arms up._

_Aunt Cass smiled as she did as her nephew asked. Tadashi laughed as Hiro then maneuvered himself onto Aunt Cass’ shoulders._

_“C’mon, bud, you wanna be there for the picture?” Tadashi asked._

_“Yup!” the five year old responded with a big smile._

_“You better hang on tight, you little monkey,” Aunt Cass laughed, causing Hiro to lock his legs around her neck, “Okay, not that tight, dear!”_

_Once Hiro was all set up, Aunt Cass pulled Tadashi close and placed her arms around his shoulders._

_“Alright, smile everyone!” the photographer called._

_While Hiro and Aunt Cass looked at the camera, Tadashi couldn’t help but glance over at Aunt Cass. He was grateful for his aunt. Without her, he and Hiro would have…well, who knows?_

_“Thanks, Aunt Cass…” Tadashi said after the picture was taken._

_Aunt Cass had looked a little confused about what he was thanking her for. But soon that warm smile came back and she hugged him tightly._

_“I want a hug too!” Hiro called from his seat on Aunt Cass’ shoulders._

~~~~~

Tadashi never realized how many pictures there were of him and Hiro. They lined the walls and a few of the shelves. There were a bunch in their bedroom…Now only his.

Hiro smiled so much in the pictures from their younger years. In recent years he didn’t smile quite as broadly, but his smiles were still genuine.

Pictures and Tadashi’s own memories were all that was left of those smiles, that face.

Tadashi growled and smacked his head lightly, trying to will himself to stop thinking like that. That it wasn’t healthy for him. But the thoughts still came, without warning but with a lot of punch.

The twenty year old headed down the steps to check on Aunt Cass, who had been on the couch for a couple hours. As he reached the end of the steps, he glanced over and saw Aunt Cass staring at the TV, Mochi by her side.

She was watching a video of Hiro’s tenth birthday. Ten year old Hiro had smashed a piece of cake into sixteen year old Tadashi’s face. The Aunt Cass in the video could be heard laughing, the camera shaking, as Tadashi chased Hiro around and around the table.

Aunt Cass gave a watery chuckle as she watched the video. Tadashi watched her and the video silently for several moments before Mochi noticed him. With a happy meow, the cat rubbed up against his legs. Aunt Cass glanced over before pausing the video and jumping up.

She wiped her eyes quickly as she made her way over to Tadashi, asking him how he was and if he needed anything. Tadashi opened his mouth but he couldn’t say anything.

She understood…She truly did…

She opened her arms and it took only a few seconds before Tadashi walked into the hug.

~~~~~

_“Starting a new invention, Mr. Hamada?”_

_Tadashi jumped, having not expected anyone else to be around so late at night on campus. However, he should’ve figured that if there was anyone who worked as late hours as Tadashi, it was Professor Callaghan._

_“Not an invention, sir,” Tadashi responded as the professor entered the room, “I’m just…doing some sewing…”_

_“Sewing…” Callaghan repeated._

_Tadashi was indeed doing just that, his work bench covered in several shirts and hoodies, a needle and thread in his hand. Tadashi mentally groaned as the professor spotted the small pile of tiny trackers beside the spool of thread._

_"…Mr. Hamada, should I be worried that you’re sewing trackers into someone’s clothes?” Callaghan asked._

_In order to avoid his idol thinking any more strange things about him, Tadashi explained himself. How Hiro was obsessed with bot fighting and wouldn’t stop. How he had seen his baby brother come home with far too many injuries for Tadashi to take it anymore. How at least this way Tadashi could find Hiro and rescue him._

_“That brother of yours truly is something,” Callaghan laughed._

_“He reminds me of what you’ve said about your daughter.”_

_Tadashi slapped a hand over his mouth but it was too late, the words had already gotten out. The professor had a strange look in his eyes for a moment before sighing._

_“Yes, it seems Abigail and Hiro really are two of a kind. I’m sure they would have gotten along…Mr. Hamada, may I suggest sewing the trackers here instead? Your brother will have a much harder time noticing them.”_

~~~~~

The funeral for Professor Robert Callaghan was held a few days after Hiro’s. Hundreds of people attended the funeral, since the professor was such a famous roboticist. Tadashi was one of the mourners, of course.

To think an accident would not only rob him of his little brother but also of the mentor and idol who gave him the chance he needed to create Baymax and work on helping the world.

Tadashi wanted to yell at the reporters covering the services. This was a funeral, not a social event…But Tadashi knew he wanted to yell at them to vent his own anger out over this mess.

An absolute mess…

~~~~~

_“So…” Hiro began in what sounded like a casual tone, “How’s nerd school?”_

_“Why don’t you come to nerd school and find out?” Tadashi asked, looking up from his homework to glance at Hiro, who was fiddling with one of his battle bots._

_“Ugh, I don’t wanna go to your dumb college!” Hiro whined._

_“So why do you keep mentioning it then?” Tadashi smirked, enjoying teasing Hiro._

_“Well, excuse me for wanting to ask about your life like a good little brother would.”_

_Tadashi laughed at the pout on Hiro’s face._

_“Seriously, Hiro, I think you’d love SFIT,” it was the same thing Tadashi had said many times before but he was persistent, “The campus is great, there’s so many opportunities to create whatever you can imagine, and you can make a ton of good friends.”_

_“Oh, like how I’ve made a bunch of great friends before?” Hiro asked sarcastically._

_"…I mean it, Hiro. The friends I’ve made at SFIT are the best friends I’ve ever had…”_

~~~~~

He decided to go back to college. Aunt Cass said he could wait for a few more days, that it was alright. But Tadashi knew he had to be strong and start moving forward. He couldn’t keep himself locked away forever. Hiro wouldn’t want that.

His friends did their best to support him as they headed to the college. They made sure he was alright and told him that they’d never forget about Hiro. It brought back memories of the service.

So long as we remember Hiro, he’s still with us.

Tadashi didn’t dwell on the thought long before SFIT came into view. He paused and let out a sigh when he saw the memorial that had been set up in front of the school for Hiro and Professor Callaghan. He could hear the construction workers in the distance, still clearing up debris from the rubble of the exhibition hall. Tadashi saw the picture of a smiling Hiro, taken on his fourteenth birthday, surrounded by candles and flowers.

He heard a few students whispering amongst themselves as they looked at the memorial. They talked about Professor Callaghan and what a great man he was, how he’d be missed. They exchanged stories about the professor and shed tears over him.

All they could mention about Hiro was that he was too young. They didn’t know him, so they couldn’t say much else.

Tadashi saw his friends staring at him worriedly. He’d been silent for too long. He forced a smile on his face and raced inside, though he already felt his resolve to stay cracking as memories of orange flames and heat and smoke raced through his mind.

He didn’t even make it through the first class. The second a moment of silence was called for over the PA system, he rushed out and ran home.

In the days that followed, his friends would come over to drop off homework and notes or just talk and try to get him to leave his room, to at least open the shades and let some light in or eat something because Aunt Cass had noticed he’d barely touched his food in two days. But the combination of Gogo’s strictness, Honey’s gentleness, Wasabi’s logic, and Fred’s well-meaning attempts to make him smile did little to get Tadashi moving again.

Tadashi had hit a brick wall. He couldn’t move forward, he just couldn’t.

He couldn’t even bring himself to mutter an “ow” when his friends brought Baymax over to his room, telling him that perhaps it was time his invention helped him for a change.

Tadashi couldn’t do it.

~~~~~

_“Tadashi, we’re leaving now.”_

_After several moments, the nine year old left his room. His parents were at the door, his father was holding onto a sleeping Hiro. Aunt Cass came over and kissed Tadashi’s cheek._

_“Tadashi, sweetheart, we really are sorry,” his mother said. She kneeled down and held out her arms for him, a small smile on her face, “We’ll make it up to you.”_

_Tadashi, still angry over the broken promise, didn’t go to hug his mother. He turned away, a frown on his face. He did feel a pang in his heart when he looked out of the corner of his eye and saw the hurt expression on his mother’s face when she stood up._

_“C’mon, Tadashi…” Aunt Cass started to scold, “Don’t-“_

_“It’s alright, Cass,” Mrs. Hamada interrupted._

_“We’ll be back as soon as we can, Tadashi,” his father said, “Be a good boy for your aunt.”_

_Tadashi was still too mad to say a word in response…The biggest regret of his life for many years to come…_

~~~~~

The tracking device…It was broken, but not beyond repair. It was found under a beam in the rubble of the exhibition hall. It had been found by some workers and identified as Tadashi’s by his friends, who dropped it off during another unsuccessful attempt at getting him to leave the house. As Tadashi sat in the darkened room, turning the broken and dust covered machine this way and that, he tried to resist the urge to throw it out the window or smash it against the wall.

This small device survived a fire and an explosion…But his baby brother couldn’t…

It wasn’t fair. It had happened again. A stupid fight and then his world was shattered. What had he done wrong this time? The device was just to keep Hiro safe. It wasn’t like with his parents, in which he was a brat.

Hiro was dead. His parents were dead. All three of them died after he made them angry.

This wasn’t fair at all.

He’d fail his promise to his parents. He failed his promise to himself. He was such an idiot, why couldn’t he stay silent? If he had just taken Hiro to that bot fight. If he had not been so stubborn about getting his brother into college.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out that scrap of cloth. His hand shook as he held it. With a choked sob, he shoved it under his bed. Out of sight because he couldn’t bear looking at it, feeling it, anymore.

Was this because he hadn’t wanted Hiro at first? About how desperately he wished to remain an only child? That his parents should “cancel their order” for a new baby? Was it because he had been jealous? Jealous that his baby brother was the smarter one?

Unfair…

~~~~~

_“Tadashi?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“You’re not gonna leave, are you?”_

_“Where would I go?”_

_"…Where Mommy and Daddy went.”_

_“Hiro, listen. You’re stuck with me for life, okay? I won’t leave you. I promise I’ll take care of you. We’re brothers, aren’t we?”_

_“Uh huh! Stuck together!”_

~~~~~

Tadashi Hamada was nine years old when he became an orphan.

Tadashi Hamada was twenty years old when he became an only child.

…It hurts so much…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! A bit shorter than usual, but oh well, I got out what I needed to. Yeah, this is kinda filler but it was necessary. This was a massive blow for Tadashi after all, after losing his parents so violently too. I needed one chapter about this before we move forward. Also, it's not exactly too much of a filler chapter actually…
> 
> Okay, so starting next chapter, we continue on with the plot! What lies in store? We shall see!
> 
> Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks~!


	6. Personal Healthcare Companion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost done...Almost done with the mass upload of chapters...I just wanna make sure that I get the eight chapters all up today. Then everyone will be on the same page so that I can continue updating at the casual pace. By the way, as a heads up, chapter 9 won't be out until 12/18 at the earliest due to certain other priorities I have.
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is not own my by college girl currently having her life ruined by a pair of fictional nerd brothers.

Every one of the windows was covered up, making the room quite dark despite it being such a sunny morning. Aunt Cass gently closed the door behind her as she entered the bedroom, a plate of warm breakfast in her hand.

"Hey, Tadashi, sweetie," she greeted in a soft voice as she made her way into the room, glancing over at the blanket covered figure on the nearby bed.

Aunt Cass carefully stepped around and over the crumpled papers, tissues, clothes, and broken gadgets that littered the floor. Tadashi had another bad night a few days back and had taken out his frustration and grief on his room. Yet Aunt Cass saw that Hiro’s half of the room was untouched, still looking exactly as it had that night nearly three weeks earlier.

"I made some breakfast for you," Aunt Cass said as she neared the bed, "Here, let me take that."

She removed the plate from last night’s dinner from Tadashi’s nightstand, replacing it with the breakfast plate. Aunt Cass frowned momentarily, noting that the dinner had barely been touched. But she knew better than to bring the subject up…again.

Aunt Cass placed the dinner plate down on a nearby table, maneuvering her way to the windows and opening the shades to let light in, coughing as it kicked up a healthy amount of dust in the air.

"You know, our favorite old lady who wears far too little made a stop in the café today," she stated in a cheerful tone.

No reaction from the motionless figure on the bed. She looked around the room, spotting Tadashi’s red karate belt, which he had worked hard to earn a year earlier, and his white gi in the corner.

"Oh, I got a call from your dojo this morning," she started, "They said it’s okay. Those training dummies were old and they planned on replacing them soon anyways."

About half a week earlier, after isolating himself in his room for so long, Tadashi started to occasionally go out, either to the karate dojo or to go around on a drive on his moped. Aunt Cass had encouraged the outings, more than happy to see her nephew leaving the house, getting some fresh air.

But then Tadashi had gotten fined for reckless driving…Twice. Reckless driving and Tadashi didn’t go together, it just didn’t. Aunt Cass pressed Tadashi to stop the trips on his moped. But it was fine, there was still the dojo, right?

Except then Aunt Cass had gotten a few worried calls from Tadashi’s sensei, about how Tadashi was being unnaturally aggressive in class. To the point where his sensei was worried Tadashi may accidentally harm the other students and had him sit on the sidelines.

This wasn’t Tadashi…Not her nephew.

And the day before Tadashi had come to the café, his body very rigid as he wordlessly went up to his room. She received a call from the dojo about how Tadashi had broken a couple of the training dummies.

"…Um…" Aunt Cass was nervous, wondering if she should talk about this. But Tadashi had a right to know, "I also got a call from your college. They mentioned your absences but they said it was alright, they understood. The main reason they were calling…was that they were funding a more extensive search of the debris."

She was starting to ramble, for sure, but Aunt Cass explained how SFIT refused to accept that there were no remains recovered from the fire. And so they pooled together a large amount of money to hire investigators to search carefully through the debris that was still on campus and the debris that had been removed. There had to be something.

Tadashi shifted slightly in his bed, but he didn’t say anything. Aunt Cass walked over to him, wondering if perhaps he had just been asleep the whole time and didn’t hear her.

But no…Aunt Cass pulled the blanket off his head and saw that her nephew was wide awake. Based on those dark bags under his eyes, he probably hadn’t slept again. He looked utterly exhausted, corpse-like even, though she absolutely despised thinking of Tadashi like that when Hiro was already…She couldn’t bear to form that thought.

She saw that in his hands, clutched tightly to his chest, was a robot…One of Hiro’s beloved robots. Megabot, if she remembered correctly.

"Oh, honey," she sighed, taking a seat on the bed and gently stroking Tadashi’s hair.

The action caused Tadashi to slowly sit up, rubbing one of his bloodshot eyes. It pained her to watch Tadashi force a smile on his face, however small it was, just for her.

"Sorry, Aunt Cass," Tadashi mumbled, Megabot still pressed against his chest, "I heard you…It’s just-"

Aunt Cass gently pulled him close for a short hug. She felt him relax for a brief second before he pulled away and got up.

"I’ll, uh, get dressed and…" Tadashi’s voice trailed off as he looked around the bedroom.

"You take your time, Tadashi," Aunt Cass told him as she headed for the door to give him his privacy, grabbing the dinner plate along the way.

Tadashi nodded in response as she closed the door behind her. The second she heard the click, Aunt Cass pressed her back against the door and let out a shuddering breath. Sometimes she wondered how Tadashi could bear to hide himself away in the room all day. It took her all she had not to burst into tears every time she stepped inside.

Hiro constantly appeared in her mind. The little three year old who had clung to her for several days when he and Tadashi first moved in. The five year old who teamed up with Tadashi to make a silly little bot to make her smile after a particularly bad day. The eleven year old who was already starting high school and looked so tiny among the other students. The fourteen year old who always moaned about her hugs but never failed to return them in the end.

Home seemed so lifeless now. There weren’t many smiles, at least true ones. And it was usually so quiet…No sounds of her little brainiacs tinkering away over some new invention or arguing over something silly or laughing away.

As she went down the stairs, Aunt Cass paused at a picture of her boys and their parents, all of them smiling and happy.

"…I’m sorry, Marie," she whispered before she continued on her way.

~~~~~

Tadashi’s first act of the new day was promptly covering all the windows Aunt Cass had opened up. He went over to the messy table that had been Hiro’s and gently placed Megabot in its usual spot. As he walked away, he saw a message alert on the computer.

He had a feeling about what it was as he took a seat and opened the message, sighing as he saw he was right. A video message from his friends.

"Hey, Tadashi," his four best friends greeted, sad smiles on their faces.

"We wanted you to know that we really miss you,” Honey started, adjusting her phone so that the camera could catch the whole group.

"SFIT’s not the same without you around," Gogo went next, a rare gentle expression on her face.

"We’ve been taking care of your lab for you," Wasabi said, "All your stuff is clean and in their places, we won’t let anything happen to it."

Tadashi felt the corner of his lips tug up a bit at that.

"Tadashi, you know I’d love to have super mutant powers," Fred began, "But if I could have one power right now, it’d be to go through this screen and give you a big hug, man."

Tadashi wasn’t sure if the message was done yet, he turned it off right after Fred spoke.

Did he miss his friends? Of course he did. But he couldn’t handle it anymore. The first few visits had been fine, they had helped. But days passed and Tadashi kept connecting his friends with SFIT and SFIT with Hiro and it all became too much, culminating in him begging them to leave him alone.

~~~~~

_“We’re worried about you!” Honey exclaimed after hearing Tadashi tell them, in a drained voice, to stop visiting him._

_“Yeah, man, you’re our best friend!” Fred added, reaching out to touch his shoulder, only for Tadashi to push it away, “…We just want you to be alright.”_

_“Guys, I need you all to leave,” Tadashi repeated, sinking into the chair where he sat._

_“Tadashi, locking yourself in here isn’t healthy for you!” Wasabi shouted, trying to get him to see reason._

_“It’s what I want though,” Tadashi stated._

_“Would **Hiro** have wanted this?” Gogo asked sharply._

_Hiro’s name was the trigger that made Tadashi jump to his feet, his fists clenched tightly as Honey, Wasabi, and Fred looked nervously at Gogo, who met Tadashi’s angry gaze with a cool one of her own._

_“Leave,” Tadashi ordered, his voice, his fists, everything shaking._

_“Tadashi-“_

_“ **Please**!” he begged._

_Without another word, after a few seconds of staring at him, his friends did as he said._

~~~~~

Tadashi turned around and around in the chair absentmindedly before getting up and heading to his closet, grabbing his clothes so he could get dressed. Of course, he’d just get dressed and then immediately go back to bed.

He was too tired for anything else. Far too tired…

As he finished getting ready, he took a look at the breakfast Aunt Cass had left for him. He reached a hand towards the fork. Maybe this time he would actually keep it down. But as he picked up the plate, despite hearing the noises his stomach made from his poor eating habits of the past few days, Tadashi didn’t feel hungry.

What a waste. That was all he could think as he dumped the food, paper plate and all, in the nearby trashcan. As he turned, his foot accidentally slammed against the table corner.

"Ow!" he shouted, jumping on his good foot for a bit as he waited for the pain to die down.

A beeping and then the sound of something inflating filled the room. Tadashi was confused for a second before remembering a certain someone his friends had dropped off in his room a week earlier.

"Oh great," Tadashi muttered under his breath as he turned and saw just what he expected.

Baymax was currently trying to maneuver through the tight space he was in to get to where Tadashi was, knocking over books in the process.

"Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion," Baymax greeted once he made it to Tadashi.

"Baymax," Tadashi responded. He let out a sigh, "S-sorry, buddy, I didn’t mean to activate you."

"I heard the sound of your distress, Tadashi" Baymax said. A screen of ten faces appeared on Baymax’s chest, "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

"It’s a zero, I’m fine," Tadashi insisted, pushing Baymax a little in the direction he had come from, "Alright, you need to go back to your station."

"I can’t do that unless you say that you are satisfied with your care," Baymax told him, "It is how you programmed me, Tadashi."

"I know how I programmed you, Baymax, I worked for over two years on you."

"My sensors indicate the pain receptors of your right foot are-"

"Okay, look," Tadashi interrupted, backing away and lifting up his foot for Baymax to see, "It’s a bit red but I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong, it doesn’t even hurt anymore."

Of course just as Tadashi said that, he placed his foot down…atop one of the broken gadgets that littered the floor.

“ _Okay_!” Tadashi gasped, gritting his teeth, “That one stung…”

"On a scale of-"

"Don’t start, Baymax, I’m fine!"

"Tadashi, your voice patterns indicate that you are attempting to suppress your pain."

It was moments like this Tadashi regretted how sophisticated Baymax’s sensors were. Once he could put his foot down without wincing, Tadashi went over to Baymax and started to try and squeeze him through the narrow path that lead to his charging station.

"Alright, buddy, I am definitely fine," Tadashi groaned as he pushed with all his might, "So you need to go back! Whoa!"

The force Tadashi put on Baymax ended up working against him, sending him tumbling back and slamming into Hiro’s table. This in turn caused one of the shelves above Tadashi to dislodge, sending some rather heavy bots Tadashi and Hiro had built over the years falling onto Tadashi’s head.

"Gah!" he yelled, crouching down and covering his head with his arms after a particularly heavy bot landed on him, "This is not my day."

"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" Baymax asked in that ever soothing tone.

Tadashi bit back the remark he had in mind. It wasn’t Baymax’s fault, he was just following the programming Tadashi had made. Instead, Tadashi got to work collecting the fallen bots, checking them over for scratches and trying to force away the memories of Hiro that came to mind with each one.

"Don’t think I didn’t see you," he said as he saw one half lodged under his bed. As he bent down and pulled it out, a bit of movement under the bed caught his eye, "What the…?"

It was the scrap of cloth from Hiro’s hoodie, the one with the pocket…The only remainder of his baby brother. There was something moving in the pocket. Curious, Tadashi grabbed the cloth, placing a hand in the pocket to see what was causing the movement.

"A microbot?"

A single microbot, one of Hiro’s. It was wriggling in Tadashi’s grasp, enough that Tadashi grabbed a small petri dish from Hiro’s table and placed the microbot inside, shutting the lid tightly.

"Why is it…?" Tadashi trailed off when he saw Baymax step closer.

"Tadashi, I scanned you while you were picking up the toys," Baymax stated.

"What?" Tadashi replied as he stood up, "Baymax, you’re supposed to get permission fir-Never mind…"

"My scan indicates your prefrontal cortex is working more than usual," the robot began to explain, "You also have higher than average cortisol levels in the blood, along with decreased function of TSH. Along with the dark coloration under your eyes, I conclude that you are suffering from sleep deprivation."

"Bravo," Tadashi sighed, trying to turn his attention back to the oddly acting microbot.

"I also detect low levels of neurotransmitter release," Baymax continued on, "Particularly serotonin. You also appear to be experiencing mood swings, particularly anger. I would diagnose you as experiencing puberty, but that would not make sense, considering your age."

Tadashi couldn’t help but smile at Baymax. He walked over and patted the robot gently.

"It’s fine, buddy," he said.

Baymax couldn’t figure it out because Tadashi never got to program in the mental and emotional health database. Not that Tadashi was experiencing anything so severe. He wasn’t…He definitely wasn’t…

"It seems to want to go somewhere."

Tadashi looked up at Baymax’s comment. The robot was pointing at the petri dish in Tadashi’s hand.

"It must be broken," Tadashi mumbled, "The fire must have damaged it or something."

He carefully placed the petri dish on his bed, looking at it wistfully before turning away. Another little thing that reminded him of his brother. Much like the cloth that Tadashi still held. He had shoved it under his bed to forget but…

Tadashi folded the cloth gently as he went over to the nightstand by his bed, tucking the cloth snugly into the frame of a picture of Hiro taken just a couple months earlier. He couldn’t stop staring at the picture.

"Tadashi," Baymax’s voice called from behind him, "This tiny robot appears to want to go outside."

"Why don’t you find out where it wants to go then?" Tadashi suggested sarcastically, not taking his eyes off the picture as he set it down.

"Will that improve your health?" Baymax questioned.

"Sure, Baymax…" Tadashi answered, picking up his hat from the nightstand, brushing off the dust from it before putting it on.

It was silent for several moments. Not that Tadashi minded…until he heard a sound downstairs. He turned around very slowly, daring not to believe.

But Baymax wasn’t there.

"Oh no," he muttered, "No, no, no, no, no…"

He raced over to the window and pulled back the shades.

Baymax was heading down the street, staring at the petri dish in his hand. Not minding at all as cars skidded around him.

"Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!" Tadashi cried as he raced for the door.

He froze before he took a step near the stairs, hearing Aunt Cass talking to a couple customers. How had Baymax gotten past them without drawing attention? Maybe they all hadn’t been looking? Whatever the reason, Tadashi wouldn’t be able to get through without Aunt Cass noticing. And he could not waste time explaining.

He went back to his room, grabbing his school bag and moped keys, before running downstairs and through the café.

"Tadashi?" Aunt Cass called.

"Hey, Aunt Cass!" Tadashi winced internally at the way his voice squeaked. He talked fast, eyeing the door every few seconds as Aunt Cass made her way over to him, "I decided it’s about time I stopped shutting myself in."

"Wait, that’s your bag," she noted, a smile forming on her face, "You’re going back to college?"

"Yup, you got it!" he was a terrible liar but he hoped his enthusiasm would sell it, "I need to stop running away!"

Aunt Cass hugged him tightly at that, going on about how proud she was and that she’d make her famous hot wings for dinner.

"Thanks, Aunt Cass, I’ll see you later!" Tadashi said, only to be grabbed by her again.

"Last hug!" she cried happily before allowing him to rush out the door.

Tadashi looked down the street, Baymax nowhere in sight. He huffed before jumping on his moped and speeding off in the direction he had last seen the robot.

~~~~~

"He’s practically a giant marshmallow, how have I not found him yet?"

Tadashi looked this way and that frantically, searching for where in the world Baymax disappeared to. He swerved around cars and ran a few red lights along the way, his heart pounding and fingers twitching all the while, his breathing quickening. The twenty year old dreaded getting found by the police. He was lucky that it was the same officer who stopped him the last two times for reckless driving, and that the guy was nice enough to just give him the fine, no matter how much it hurt Tadashi’s wallet. If he got caught again, Tadashi would probably be seeing that old cell from the bot fight incident again.

As Tadashi made a turn into an unsavory part of San Fransokyo, he happened to glance down an alleyway…

…And saw a familiar bot waddling down it…

"Baymax!" Tadashi called out.

He saw that the alley was too cluttered to drive through. It was risky, but Tadashi had to leave his moped and bag near the streetlight. Maybe the busy main road being within sight would deter any thieves.

With that thought, Tadashi ran down the alley after Baymax. After climbing over random debris and taking a few twists and turns, Tadashi came upon a large warehouse. It looked old and rundown, definitely abandoned.

Baymax was standing in front of the door.

"Baymax!" Tadashi yelled angrily as he stomped over to the bot, "What were you thinking, you knucklehead?"

Tadashi realized what he had said and took a deep breath before continuing.

"You can’t just go off like that, Baymax. It isn’t safe, for you and other people. I saw some of those angry drivers on the way here."

"I found where the tiny robot wanted to go," Baymax stated.

"Baymax," Tadashi grumbled as he took the petri dish from the bot’s hands, "I told you, it’s just broken. There’s no way…it…"

Tadashi’s voice died down as he saw the microbot bumping against the edge of the petri dish, pointing towards the door. He moved the dish to the left and to the right, but the little bot remained pointed at the door. Tadashi glanced at the locked entryway to the abandoned warehouse.

This didn’t make sense. Assuming the microbot wasn’t broken, why would it…?

"What’s going on here?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done! I actually planned on going quite a bit further than this, but the chapter is long enough I think. I actually did a couple hours worth of research. Most of it had to do with a small thing in a scene that was supposed to be in this chapter, but that'll wait until the next chapter. The rest of the research had to do with Baymax's diagnosis. It's a small thing but I just wanted to double check certain bits and also I was debating how much to put in and how much to leave out.
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! Please keep reading and reviewing, dears~!


	7. Tragic Accident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got to see Big Hero 6 twice, thanks to my other cousin who didn't get to see it. Just as fun and great as the first time~! The theatre was a little more packed to, though I guess that's because we watched it in the afternoon. And my cousin ended up loving it and she told me she started to tear up at the scene where Tadashi died but she didn't want to cry in front of me. Cousin, you're dealing with someone who spent the last hour of Les Miserables sobbing like a baby. And it really was great watching the film again because it refreshed my mind so that I could work more on the fic and it also helped me recall the placement of certain scenes. Plus, watching it again helped me get more used to the characters as well. Anyways, enough of my ramblings, you're here for the story, so let's get into it!
> 
> Disclaimer: Just because I watched Big Hero 6 twice, that doesn't mean I own it.

"Please, exercise caution. A fall from this height could result in great bodily harm."

"I know, Baymax, now let me concentrate."

Tadashi had a hard time getting his balance right as he climbed atop of Baymax in order to get at the open window of the rundown warehouse.

The microbot could still be malfunctioning, there was that chance. But Tadashi had been with Hiro through every step of the process of creating those bots, through all the planning and testing. He’d been part of all the triumphs and all the failures, both the silly ones and the painful ones that he still had a couple scars from. He was pretty knowledgeable about what his brother’s creation was and wasn’t capable of. Yes, there was still a chance the bot was just broken…But, at the moment, it was highly unlikely.

So why was it so eager to get into this seemingly abandoned warehouse?

"Alright," Tadashi grunted as he grabbed the edge of the window and squeezed himself through the hole, falling to the floor, "I’m in."

Tadashi got up and dusted himself off as he took in his surroundings. The warehouse was much bigger on the inside than he had expected. It was practically pitch black, save for the bare minimum of light seeping in through cracks in the other windows and a couple holes in the roof. Rusted, forgotten machinery lined the walls or hung from the ceiling. The air was dusty and smelled of mildew, and Tadashi definitely heard mice squeaking and skittering about. Even the tiniest step Tadashi took on the metal floor of the raised walkway seemed to echo through the building.

Honestly, he wondered why his old high school never used this place for their annual Haunted House Spectacular.

Crash!

"Gah!" Tadashi yelled as he spun around, instinctively shifting his legs and raising his fists to fight the source of the crash.

"Oh no…" Baymax stated, wedged tightly in the small window.

"Ugh, Baymax…" Tadashi groaned as he relaxed, his heart still hammering, "You’re stuck there pretty tight, huh?"

"It appears so," Baymax responded, "Please excuse me while I let out some air."

As Baymax proceeded to do just that, Tadashi closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he remembered just where he had placed Baymax’s air release valve.

"Note to self: stop making design choices at three AM on a caffeine high after fifty hours with no sleep," Tadashi mumbled to himself. Once Baymax was done, Tadashi pulled the robot inside, "Okay, bud, you reflate and I’ll go check this place out."

"Please make sure to watch your step, Tadashi," Baymax said as Tadashi made his way down the stairs.

~~~~~

Tadashi pulled out the petri dish containing the microbot from his pocket. The tiny bot was still wriggling about in there, pointing towards the other end of the warehouse.

"This is a bad idea," Tadashi whispered as he pocketed the petri dish and slowly made his way through the room, flinching at the slightest noises.

He peeked around a corner and saw something moving behind a screen, although other than a slight shadow it was impossible to see anything from where he stood. Tadashi gulped and cautiously approached the screened off area, his fists clenched tightly as he put them up, just in case.

His heart hammered and he felt beads of sweat trail down from his forehead as he reached the screen and looked close.

It was still extremely difficult to see anything properly. But the shadow he had seen earlier looked to be some kind of mechanical arm. It beeped and whirred as it moved this way and that. A sound to his right caught Tadashi’s attention. Slowly, he started to head in the direction of the strange noise.

A conveyor belt…and a large barrel was at the end of it. But Tadashi’s attention was trained on what was on the conveyor belt and being dumped into the barrel.

"Wha…?" Tadashi gasped as he got close, "…No way…"

Microbots. Tons and tons of them. But it wasn’t possible. All of Hiro’s microbots had been destroyed in the fire, he knew that! But…

"This…What…?" Tadashi picked up a handful of the bots from the barrel. They looked exactly like the one going wild in his pocket, "I don’t get it…"

Tadashi looked up to see dozens of similar barrels. All of them filled to the brim with the tiny robots. Tadashi dropped the bots he had been holding as he took several shaky steps backward.

Someone was building more…Someone found his brother’s invention and was now creating thousands upon thousands of them. But how could that someone have gotten the microbots? Why would they-?

"Tadashi?"

"Aah!" Tadashi screeched as he turned around, nearly falling in the process. He saw a familiar giant marshmallow bot before him, "Baymax! What is wrong with you?”

"I do not sense any error in my programming," Baymax replied, "However, your heart rate and breathing rate have increased dramatically, and I detect increased production of cortisol and ACTH in-"

"Baymax, this isn’t the time for a diagnosis!" Tadashi hissed, placing a hand over his heart, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Then, it is good that you equipped me with defibrillators," Baymax rubbed his hands together and reached them towards Tadashi, "Clear."

"Whoa, no! It’s an expression!" Tadashi backed up, letting out a sigh of relief when Baymax put his hands down. He took off his hat for a moment to run his hand through his hair, "Man, I need to make some adjustments to your…programming…"

Tadashi’s voice trailed off as a distinctive rumbling filled the warehouse. He turned slowly and saw every one of the barrels of microbots were shaking violently. With a shout of surprise, Tadashi scrambled away as the microbots suddenly rose to the air, linking up with one another rapidly, forming a tall black wall.

At the night of the showcase and in the weeks leading up to it, he had always seen these microbots as cool, as something that could do so much good for the world. But now, for the first time, Tadashi felt fear as he looked at the menacing wave of bots before him.

"Oh no," Baymax stated as the wave of microbots suddenly took aim at him and Tadashi.

"Run!" Tadashi yelled as he sprinted away. It took a couple seconds before he realized Baymax’s squeaking movements were far too behind him. He paused and turned to see Baymax quite a distance behind him, "Baymax, c’mon!"

"I am not fast," Baymax noted.

With a groan of frustration, he raced back and grabbed Baymax’s arm, practically dragging the bot away. The swarm of microbots nipped at their heels. When the pair would go one direction, they would swamp the exit, forcing the pair to spin and swerve and duck and squeeze their way around the warehouse. As Tadashi shoved Baymax through a narrow hall, he started to rant.

"Why wouldn’t I make you fast? What possible reason could I have had?"

Baymax popped through the hall, Tadashi grabbed his arm and bolted down a nearby path, Baymax’s head bumping into low hanging machinery and pipes.

"I mean, you’re a medical robot! You’re supposed to handle medical emergencies! Being fast would be good for that!"

The bots crashed down before them, causing Tadashi to lead Baymax to the right, stumbling a few times along the way. Tadashi glanced at the front door, but it was barricaded tightly. Baymax could lift a thousand pounds but breaking down something like that? With his puffed up vinyl hands? Not happening. Tadashi’s voice was becoming higher and faster as the microbots gained on them.

"Medical emergencies have to be dealt with quickly! Speed is crucial! A few seconds make all the difference!"

There was a hole in the ground, which Tadashi jumped down, pulling at Baymax until the bot got in as well. The pair crawled their way around, the microbots trying to cut them off at every turn.

"I mean, I guess a slow giant marshmallow is the least intimidating thing in the world, but c’mon!"

"Tadashi, my sensors indicate that you are-"

"Not now, Baymax!"

Tadashi shoved the grate above him out of the way, popping out of the underground maze they had crawled through and helping Baymax up. The pair hurried up the stairs, racing for the window they had come in through. The sound of the microbots crawling over the metal of the walkway made Tadashi’s stomach do barrel rolls.

As they got closer to the window, Tadashi saw Baymax looking to the side. Despite his panic, the twenty year old followed the bot’s gaze and nearly fell forward.

A tall figure dressed in black from head to toe…except for the kabuki mask with red and black markings and piercing yellow eyes covering the figure’s face. The figure raised an arm and a wave of microbots rose up.

The scene distracted Tadashi enough that he and Baymax crashed into the window. Tadashi grunted and groaned as he attempted to get Baymax through, the microbots getting closer and closer with every second.

"Alright, brace yourself, buddy!" Tadashi warned as he took a few steps back and ran at Baymax.

The running start worked and sent Baymax flying out the window…and Tadashi was right behind him. Tadashi let out a yell as the ground got closer and closer. He shut his eyes, bracing for the impact, when he felt a pair of soft arms encircle him. Baymax maneuvered them so that he hit the ground, Tadashi safely bouncing off him and rolling away.

The pair didn’t have time to appreciate the save though, the sound of the microbots still ringing in Tadashi’s ears. Grabbing his hat that had fallen off with one hand and Baymax with the other, Tadashi sprinted far, far away from the nightmare warehouse.

~~~~~

"Okay, so a man in a kabuki mask used ESP to control those…microbot thingies and attack you and your balloon pal."

"A neuro-cranial transmitter. You put it on your head and then you-"

"I don’t need the science fair speech, buddy."

Tadashi growled at the nonchalant tone the cop was speaking in. His poor hat was dealing with the brunt of his stress as Tadashi twisted and crushed it in his hands as he explained what had happened at the warehouse.

He and Baymax had only just escaped with their lives. Why didn’t the cop understand the severity of the situation? A strange man was using his baby brother’s invention for…who knows what? It couldn’t be anything good if the guy tried killing Tadashi over it.

"Wait a second, Tadashi Hamada, right?" the officer asked. After Tadashi nodded, the officer let out something between a sigh and a chuckle, "The guy Frank busted for reckless driving."

"I’ve paid the fine both times," Tadashi tried to keep his voice level, side eyeing Baymax who was currently sticking tape over the various holes through which air was leaking out of his body, "This isn’t about that."

"Listen, kid, we know the story," the officer started in a sympathetic tone, "That fire was tragic."

"That isn’t…" Tadashi’s voice was dying on him, a familiar ache building in his chest.

"But this stuff isn’t healthy. Reckless driving, weird stories about some man in a mask…"

"That doesn’t have anything to do with this!" Tadashi shouted, roughly shoving his hat back on his head.

No one would believe him without proof. If he had only had a camera on him…

…A camera…

"Baymax!" Tadashi cried, turning to the robot, "Your cameras! Please tell me you have video of the guy!"

Baymax was programmed to record all his interactions involving his patients. The video clips were then stored directly onto his nursing chip. If Baymax had video of the guy…

"I apologize, Tadashi, I was not aware that I should have been recording the man," Baymax stated, Tadashi let out a moan as he pressed his forehead against the wall "I shall make note of that foooooo…."

"Baymax? You alright?" Tadashi asked as Baymax’s voice started sounding odd, the bot twisting and turning oddly, "Wait…Don’t tell me-?"

"Low battery…" Baymax said in a very deep tone.

As the robot started to act up, Tadashi glanced at the police officer, who was staring back and forth between the pair. Tadashi went over and grabbed Baymax’s arm.

"I’m healthcare!" Baymax exclaimed, "Your per-personal…Baymax robot…"

"We’ll just…see ourselves out…" Tadashi muttered.

~~~~~

It was an awkward ride on the cable car home, considering the fact that he was sitting beside a very loopy robot, but Tadashi and Baymax made it back to the café. They slowly went inside, Tadashi scanning around for Aunt Cass.

"Okay, Baymax," he whispered as he shut the door behind them, "If Aunt Cass asks, I was working on you at college all day."

"We jumped out a window!" Baymax squealed.

"Shh!" Tadashi hissed, looking around nervously, "Aunt Cass will freak if you say that!"

Tadashi quickly realized that a Baymax on low battery would not be subtle in any way. His best bet would be to sneak the robot back to his room. When Aunt Cass called, Tadashi hurried up the stairs, wincing as he heard Baymax fumbling around as he followed.

"Hey, Aunt Cass!" Tadashi greeted as he reached the top of the stairs, his voice squeaking.

"There’s my big guy!" Aunt Cass giggled, looking over at him fondly, "Oh, honey, I wanna hear all about your day. We can talk over my super spicy wings!"

"Wiiiiiiiings!" Baymax cried as he suddenly popped up behind Tadashi.

"Wow, I didn’t know you loved my wings so much!" Aunt Cass said, her back to Tadashi. Tadashi took the chance to quickly pull and shove Baymax up the stairs before she turned around, "You always said that they burned holes in your stomach."

"Oh, c’mon, Aunt Cass!" Tadashi winced internally over how much his voice was breaking, "I love those wings of yours! Whoo! I’m excited!"

Tadashi and Aunt Cass both looked up at the ceiling at a strange sound.

"What was that?" Aunt Cass wondered.

"Must’ve been Mochi," Tadashi replied quickly, only to look down at the cat rubbing against his legs.

In a panic, he tossed Mochi up the stairs before Aunt Cass could notice. Mochi would probably not be forgiving him for that anytime soon.

"Anyways, I have a ton of work to catch up on," Tadashi slowly headed towards the stairs as he talked, "You know, missing all those classes and whatnot."

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Aunt Cass asked worriedly, "You seem more…hyper. And you look pale. First day back and you already went and caught something?"

"No! I…I had some espresso at the cafeteria today. That stuff really works!"

"Tadashi…" Aunt Cass groaned, an amused expression on her face, "This isn’t like that one time at three AM when you were on a caffeine-"

"Hey, we promised to never speak of that night again!" Tadashi interrupted, glancing up the stairs quickly, "But seriously, I should really head up."

"Umm, okay…?" Aunt Cass responded as she watched her nephew race up the stairs, "…Was I that weird back in college?”

~~~~~

"Note to self: work on lying voice," Tadashi muttered as he entered his room. He smirked as Baymax pet Mochi, the cat taking one look at Tadashi before angrily running off, "Okay, buddy, let’s get you back into your station."

It took a bit but Tadashi helped Baymax into the charging station. With a loud yawn, Tadashi collapsed onto his bed, taking his hat off and placing it over his eyes. Well, if he hadn’t been able to sleep before, after a day like this, he’d certainly be snoozing away. The twenty year old reached into his pocket, his fingers grazing against the petri dish with Hiro’s microbot.

"This doesn’t make sense…" he whispered.

The microbots should have all been destroyed in the fire. Yet that masked man was making so many of them. He was using his brother’s invention.

He was tainting something his little brother had worked so hard on.

"Tadashi?"

His thoughts were interrupted by Baymax’s voice. He sat up, placing the hat back on his head as he smiled at the bot.

"Back to normal, Baymax?" he asked.

"I am fully charged now," Baymax responded before looking around, "Tadashi, is there something wrong with Hiro?"

Tadashi felt his insides freeze at the name. He got up slowly and walked over to Baymax.

"W-what do you mean?" Tadashi asked.

"It has been quite some time since I last saw him," Baymax said, "And you normally mention him at least once per our interactions, yet you have not done so this time. Is Hiro alright?"

Tadashi felt his fingers twitching and he willed himself to take several deep breaths. He made his way over to Hiro’s work desk, fingers brushing against it as he looked over his brother’s creations.

"Hiro’s…" he gulped and forced himself to continue, "Hiro’s gone, Baymax."

"I see. When will he return?"

"N-no, bud, he’s…He’s dead."

"But with a proper diet and exercise, he should have lived a long life."

Tadashi gripped the back of Hiro’s chair with enough force he was surprised it didn’t crack.

"Yeah, he should have," Tadashi said through gritted teeth, "He should be attending college right now and making whatever that mind of his can come up with and bugging me every other minute and changing the world."

He released the chair, turning it around so that he could sit in it. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm down.

"But there was fire…A giant fire…"

The flames and smoke were engraved in his mind.

"He didn’t make it out."

He had let Hiro go. It was his fault. The logical side of him knew that was false, just like how it was false for his parents’ death. But he refused to accept the logic.

"He’s gone," Tadashi finished, his body trembling.

Baymax stayed silent for a few moments, looking over at Tadashi’s shaking form.

"Hiro is here," Baymax stated simply.

"No!" Tadashi shouted as he jumped out of the chair, glaring at Baymax. He clenched his fists and listened carefully, but it seemed Aunt Cass didn’t hear his shout. Nevertheless, Tadashi continued in an irritated whisper, "Don’t you start with that too, okay?"

He started pacing the floor, Baymax quietly following his movements.

"I’ve heard that from everyone and their mother. ‘Hiro will always be alive in our hearts. Hiro’s not truly gone. Hiro will always be around so long as we remember him!’"

He yanked the petri dish with the microbot out of his pocket and glared at it.

"Well, I _do_ remember him!” he threw the petri dish on his bed, the microbot tumbling out, “I remember him every single day! …But Hiro is _gone_ …And it hurts.”

Tadashi placed his hands on the edge of his bed for support. Baymax noted that he did not detect any signs of injury on him.

"It’s different, Baymax, I haven’t programmed that in you yet…"

"I am sorry about what happened to Hiro," Baymax said.

Tadashi took several deep breaths before walking over to Baymax with a smile. He gently patted the bot’s arm.

"It’s not your fault," Tadashi sighed, "It was that fire. Just an…accident…"

The gears started turning as Tadashi looked over at the microbot on his bed in a new light.

"No…" he picked up the microbot, turning it over in his hands, "I-it wasn’t…It wasn’t an accident."

The memories of that day were burned into his mind. Hiro had acted weird after their fight. He had pulled something out of his pocket and was looking at it weirdly.

"The microbot! It must’ve been twitching."

Hiro had gone to check on his invention, to see why the microbot was acting like that.

"Th-that masked man! He was stealing the microbots. He set that fire to cover up his escape and the theft!"

Hiro and Professor Callaghan had been at the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in the fire.

“ _That man_!” Tadashi growled, “He set the fire! He stole my brother’s invention. He-! …He…”

Tadashi’s shaking legs couldn’t support him anymore. He collapsed to his knees, his mind coming to the terrible conclusion at the end of all of this.

The masked man probably didn’t intend for anyone to be caught in the fire. Hence why most people got out alright. But two people did get stuck and died for it. Died in the fire that he set for his crime. It was never a tragic accident.

Hiro and Professor Callaghan had been murdered. And now the masked man was tainting his little brother’s invention for his own purposes.

Tadashi felt like he would throw up then and there.

"Tadashi?" Aunt Cass called from the foot of the stairs, "Can you come down for a sec?"

"Tadashi, your heart rate and breathing patterns are much like they were back in the warehouse," Baymax noted, "Shall I tell your aunt that you are not well?"

"…N-no," he got to his feet, his body shaking slightly and the nausea still there, "You stay here until I come back, Baymax."

As Tadashi went down the steps, he didn’t see Baymax look over at the computer.

~~~~~

"Honey, are you alright?" Aunt Cass asked, quickly making her way over to Tadashi, "You look even paler than before!"

"I’m fine, Aunt Cass," at least he finally got his lying voice down now, "What did you need?"

Aunt Cass narrowed her eyes as she looked him over. Tadashi had a feeling she suspected something, but thankfully she decided not to press the issue.

"Well, I was wondering where your moped was?"

Tadashi groaned, slapping his forehead. In his panic, he had dragged Baymax right past the moped and had jumped onto the nearest cable car instead.

"I left it behind in the al-parking lot!" he corrected quickly, "College really beat me up, you know? I should go and get it."

"Well, if it’s at your college, I’m sure it’ll be fine," Aunt Cass said.

If it was at SFIT. But it wasn’t, it and his bag filled with plenty of important stuff were in a shady neighborhood. He needed to get it back.

He convinced his aunt that vehicles left by non-dorming students would be towed and rushed out, back to that area.

~~~~~

If the neighborhood already looked shady in the daytime, at night it was definitely crime central. Tadashi kept marching forward, trying to ignore the stares he got from the people he passed as he searched for where he put his moped. He knew he definitely looked like an outsider. But he didn’t plan on staying long to begin with.

"Great…" he muttered upon spotting his moped.

Particularly, upon spotting the three men surrounding his moped. Tree, Tadashi mentally named the really tall one with bright green hair, was eyeing his moped appreciatively. Baldy, the short one without a strand of hair on his head, picked up his bag. The scrawny third guy turned around when Tadashi coughed to make his presence known. Tadashi noted the guy’s odd cat-like eyes.

"Look, fellas," Cat Eyes chuckled, "Looks like a prissy little nerd boy lost his way."

"I don’t want trouble," Tadashi sighed, "I just came for my moped."

"Wait…" Baldy said, "I knew I recognized this thing. You’re the guy who got us all arrested at the fight!"

Tadashi was puzzled at the glare the three men aimed at him before realizing they must be talking about the bot fight from a few weeks back.

"That’s not my problem," Tadashi told them, "Look, just let me get my stuff and I’ll go in peace. You’ll never see me again and you can do whatever illegal stuff you want."

The guys ignored Tadashi’s words as they got closer, though Tadashi was glad they stopped a few feet away from him.

"We had managed to avoid the cops for months before you showed up," Tree growled.

"You and that runt with that weird bot," Cat Eyes added.

Tadashi’s fingers started to twitch.

"What’d he call himself, Hiro or something?" Cat Eyes went on, "You and that puny kid got yourselves out of trouble, huh?"

Tadashi bit his lip, hard enough to break the skin.

"Little brat hustling everyone out of their cash. Wish I got the chance to punch that cheeky grin off his face."

"Shut up," Tadashi growled, his hands clenching into tight fists, his head pounding.

"Hey, man, that kid did die, you know…" Tree mumbled, eyeing Tadashi warily.

"Yeah, that fire at the robo college, right?" Cat Eyes laughed, "Karma caught up with him."

"Shut. Up," Tadashi repeated, his heart hammering away.

"Dude, you might wanna shut it," Baldy elbowed Cat Eyes, taking a few steps away as he watched Tadashi.

But Cat Eyes didn’t know when to quit. He smirked away as he went on.

"What? It’s not like one of that brat’s inventions got him killed."

Tadashi saw red.

“ _I SAID SHUT UP_!”

The three men all flinched at Tadashi’s yell. Baldy and Tree started backing away rapidly, but Cat Eyes simply stared at Tadashi, an annoyed expression on his face.

"I think you’re the one who needs to shut it, nerd boy," he said before he ran at Tadashi.

A few seconds was all it took. Tadashi got into stance. Cat Eyes got close, Tadashi punched out, catching the man’s wrist. As Cat Eyes was focused on his arm, Tadashi swung his leg out and rammed it against the back of the man’s legs. Cat Eyes fell hard on his back, allowing Tadashi to stand over him, his grip on the man’s wrist crushing and his other fist pulled back, ready to strike.

Tadashi’s sensei would’ve been proud of the textbook maneuver, if nothing else.

"H-h-hey, man," Cat Eyes stuttered, his two pals long gone, "It’s c-c-cool, I didn’t mean-"

"Don’t talk about Hiro," Tadashi snarled, "Don’t _ever_ mention my brother again!”

"You got it! Now, l-let me go!"

Tadashi glared at the shaking man. He wanted to punch him. He wanted to keep hitting him until he was black and blue. He wanted to punch him over and over for daring to talk about Hiro. Tadashi wanted to hurt him badly.

That scared him. His grip loosened.

Cat Eyes wrenched himself free and sprinted down the street, yelling about a “maniac nerd” all the while. Tadashi stared at the ground for what seemed like forever before he adjusted his hat and went over to his stuff.

His moped didn’t have a scratch on it and all his stuff was still in his bag. Tadashi got on the moped and drove away from the neighborhood.

He felt numb the whole way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! Wow, it's been a while since I did one this long, huh? But either I added in that last scene or I removed it entirely, because I couldn't keep postponing it. And I wanted this scene in here, it's the only reason I had Tadashi take his moped last chapter. It seems our gentle Tadashi is not doing so well, huh?
> 
> You know, I actually debated over whether or not to leave out the chase scene. I didn't want to leave it out, because it'd be weird without it. But then I had to think up a way to make it different. My brain then decided, "Hey, what if Tadashi is a panicky ranter? Going on and on about Baymax being slow?" Thanks, brain, you did it again.
> 
> The fun thing about this story is trying to figure out the similarities and differences between Hiro and Tadashi in terms of their reactions to the events of the movie. I'll go into this more in my notes for later chapters. Hell, I'm gonna do my best to show it off in later chapters too.
> 
> By the way, the move I described Tadashi using is an actual karate move that's known as ashi barai (I actually did butcher the name but I changed it up now). I actually spent a solid hour looking up karate moves and watching videos to find the right move for the scene. I didn't want it to be an outright fight, I just needed one move to show the state Tadashi is in. And it was hard because certain moves/names were similar between karate and other martial arts forms and I was trying my best to make sure I didn't accidentally use a move from another martial art. Tadashi is a karate student, at least in my story. Also, I gave him a red belt for a reason…I also did a tiny research again concerning Baymax's diagnosis earlier in the chapter (the one with cortisol and ACTH).
> 
> Anyways, I hope you keep reading and reviewing! Thanks for the love and support!


	8. The Emotional State Of Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so know everyone on FFN, Tumblr, and now AO3 are on the same page with updates on this story! By they way, regarding my notes at the top and bottom, usually they're just my comments on stuff. But my bottom note tend to have some information related to research I may have done for a chapter. Like this chapter, for example. In case anyone's curious!
> 
> Also, some people on FFN have been making comments about noticing certain actions characters have taken or certain things I've said in the story itself that stand out to you. I'm won't say any or all of you are correct or wrong…I'm just saying there are certain things throughout this story I would like you to keep in mind as this tale goes on. I won't say what, or else I'll spoil things. But let's just say there are certain things that I've put so far in the chapters that I didn't just put in there for no reason. Anyways, let's get on with the story!
> 
> Disclaimer: Nope, BH6 is still not mine in the slightest!

It was late when Tadashi finally got home. Aunt Cass seemed even more concerned than ever upon seeing how absolutely weary Tadashi looked. But Tadashi tiredly brushed aside any questions, saying that he had just had a very busy day and wanted to go to sleep.

Not exactly a lie. After everything that had occurred, Tadashi absolutely wanted to lie in bed. But he definitely wasn’t going to end up sleeping. Forget the fact that he had been haunted by nightmares for the past few weeks. Forget the fact that there were some nights when sleep just wouldn’t come to him, no matter how long he lay there in silence.

He would definitely not be sleeping this time…Not after what he had learned. How could he possibly rest for even a couple hours with the knowledge that his brother’s and mentor’s murderer was out there?

"What am I supposed to do?" Tadashi asked himself quietly as he headed up to his room after wishing Aunt Cass a good night. He dropped his hat off on one of the hooks on the wall, "The police don’t even believe me…Baymax, I’m back!"

Baymax was over by Hiro’s desk, curiously poking at Megabot. Tadashi quickly walked over there and forced him away.

"Don’t do that," he said sternly.

"I apologize," Baymax responded before adding, "Tadashi, while you were out I took the liberty of downloading the emotional and mental healthcare program you had on the computer."

"What? Baymax, that program is still in its early stages, it’s practically useless without-"

"I also downloaded information on dealing with personal loss from the internet," Baymax continued.

"You did what?” Tadashi asked, honestly taken aback.

Baymax was supposed to have a good amount of autonomy to him. It would be essential to his caregiving. But Tadashi hadn’t exactly anticipated just how much autonomy Baymax had. Had Tadashi made some miscalculations in the programming?

"Tadashi, according to the data I have found, I wish to assure you that there is no timetable for grief," Baymax said in his ever calming tone, "Everyone grieves differently."

"Um, thanks, Baymax," Tadashi replied awkwardly, "B-but it’s fine, I don’t need you to-"

"It is considered important that one talks about their feelings," Baymax interjected. Baymax waddled a little closer to Tadashi, looking down at him and tilting his head, "I am here to listen to what you say."

"Baymax, I really don’t have anything to talk about,” Tadashi told him as he took a few steps back.

"It is considered unhealthy to ignore your feelings. It is alright to cry."

Tadashi sputtered for a response, wanting to say that he definitely was not going to cry. But Baymax stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Tadashi, patting his head gently.

"Physical and verbal reassurance can help ease the pain," Baymax stated, "There, there, it will all be okay."

Although he was definitely weirded out by the actions, Tadashi found himself easing into the hug, resting his head against Baymax’s soft vinyl. Of course, he only allowed himself to do so for all of five seconds before worming his way out of the nurse bot’s grasp.

"Baymax, I appreciate this, buddy," Tadashi smiled despite himself as he started to root through his dresser drawers and change into his pajamas, "I seriously do. But I don’t need any of this, I swear."

"Perhaps you would prefer the presence of loved ones?" Baymax suggested.

At the sound of a few beeps, Tadashi spun around and saw the faces of Gogo, Honey, Wasabi, and Fred on Baymax’s chest.

"NO!" Tadashi yelled, "Don’t contact them!"

"Tadashi, it would be healthy for you if-"

"I don’t want to hear it!" Tadashi growled, "Do not contact them!”

Tadashi just couldn’t see them…He couldn’t. Baymax seemed to relent to his request, the faces of his friends vanishing from Baymax’s chest.

"Tadashi?"

The twenty year old let out a groan as he turned to see Aunt Cass coming up the steps.

"Hey, I heard some yelling," she explained as she entered the room, "Got kinda worr-Isn’t that your robot?"

"Hello," Baymax greeted with a small wave, "I am Baymax. I am here to assist Tadashi through his grieving."

"Oh!" Aunt Cass gasped, looking over at Tadashi, "Well, hey, if you can help…"

"Aunt Cass, I’m fine," Tadashi insisted.

"Honey," Aunt Cass started in a tone he had heard so many times before.

"Tadashi, if I may offer another suggestion," Baymax started, "Talking with a psychologist may help to relieve your stress."

"Oh, Dr. Rodriguez-Moore is a psychologist!" Aunt Cass added, "You know her, Tadashi, the woman who comes in every Saturday-"

“ _I don’t need a psychologist_!” Tadashi exclaimed, “I don’t need any of this! I just…Can I just go to bed?”

Aunt Cass kissed his cheek and soon left the room. Tadashi sent a glare over at Baymax before heading towards his bed. He passed by Hiro’s desk, glancing over at Megabot.

As he had done so nearly every night previous, Tadashi took the battle bot with him. He collapsed onto the bed, holding the robot close to his chest.

"Tadashi?"

"What, Baymax?" Tadashi groaned.

"May I offer some assistance with your sleep deprivation issues?"

"If you want…"

Tadashi turned over to his side, his eyes going over Megabot’s form. He still remembered when Hiro started working on the bot several years ago. The arguments they had about bot fighting. The static in the background…Wait, what?

Tadashi turn over and saw Baymax standing by the bed, a small screen on his chest showing a sleeping figure, static noise coming out of him.

"White noise, Baymax?" Tadashi asked.

"The equal amount of noise at every frequency has been suggested to help people sleep at night," Baymax stated before shutting off the sound, "Would you prefer a lullaby instead? I have several lullabies recorded in my system."

"Uh, n-no, I don’t need-"

“Lullaby, and good night…” a woman’s voice crooned from the screen.

"Baymax…"

“Hush little baby, don’t say a word…”

~~~~~

"I’m glad you finally got some sleep, Tadashi!" Aunt Cass exclaimed, giving her nephew a tight hug before turning her attention back to setting up the customer’s order.

Tadashi let out a sigh as he tightened his apron, getting ready to help out with the morning rush at the café. Surprisingly enough, though he spent two hours switching between trying to get Baymax to stop with the lullabies and covering his head with a pillow, Tadashi actually did manage to knock out sometime later. It had been the first few hours of rest he had gotten in nearly five days…

Tadashi put his all into making the different caffeinated drinks and delivering the orders to their correct tables. It was good that it was Saturday, so he didn’t have to pretend to be at college to prevent Aunt Cass from being suspicious of yesterday. The regular customers all greeted him, saying how they hadn’t seen him in so long and were glad he was out and about. A couple of them said their sympathies regarding Hiro. Tadashi made sure that Aunt Cass took over for those customers.

The only reason he was helping out at the café instead of hiding away in his room as had been the norm for the past few weeks was precisely because of Hiro…Or his killer, to be specific.

That masked man stole Hiro’s inventions, set the fire, killed Hiro and Professor Callaghan. Tadashi knew that much as fact. But his mind and heart were at war over what to do about it.

The logical side of him said he couldn’t do anything. He may know karate but such skills meant nothing against an army of microbots that could do whatever the user could imagine. Without any physical proof, there were no law enforcement agencies in the country who would take him seriously. No matter how much it wanted to make him scream at the world, he’d have to deal with the fact that the masked man would be free to do whatever he wished until someone stronger came along.

But the other half of Tadashi, the half that held all the sorrow and rage of a boy who life dealt a third bad hand to, wasn’t satisfied with waiting. That half wanted the masked man in pain. Wanted him to suffer. Wanted that man to know even a fraction of the pain Hiro and Professor Callaghan must have been in as they were trapped in that inferno. But, most of all, Tadashi wanted a reason. It would never justify anything. He didn’t even know why he wanted to hear the masked man’s reasons, if there were any.

It was this side of Tadashi that was currently winning…But what could he do?

~~~~~

"Alright, my hard working big guy gets the rest of the day to himself," Aunt Cass laughed as the morning rush came to an end. She grabbed a donut and offered it to Tadashi, "Hungry?"

Tadashi hung up the apron and looked at the donut apprehensively. But he saw the hopeful expression on Aunt Cass’ face and took it. Aunt Cass smiled as he took a big bite of the pastry and swallowed, doing his best to suppress his gag reflex.

"I think that Baymax is doing some good things for you, sweetie," Aunt Cass said.

Tadashi offered a small nod in response before heading upstairs. The second he got to his room, he threw the rest of the donut in the trash. He took a seat on Hiro’s chair as he observed Baymax curiously playing with Mochi, who was swiping at Baymax’s finger.

"Hey, Baymax?" Tadashi waited for the robot to stop playing with Mochi and look at him, "…Suppose you knew the person who hurt someone you loved. Would you go after that person yourself?"

"I do not understand, Tadashi," Baymax answered.

Tadashi figured as much. Hypotheticals weren’t very useful in these cases.

"That masked man," Tadashi felt his nails digging into his palms, "He’s responsible for Hiro and Professor Callaghan. And no one else is gonna believe us or help us. Hiro’s gone because of him."

"Hiro is here," Baymax said.

"Baymax, what have I said about saying that?" Tadashi hissed. He let out a sigh, trying his best not to snap at Baymax, who he knew didn’t know any better, "…That man is planning something with those microbots…"

Tadashi stood up, a spark starting deep within him.

"We have to stop him ourselves, bud," Tadashi looked over at the line of battle bots that lined the shelves, "…I think I need to take a page out of Hiro’s book this time."

~~~~~

"Stupid! Useless! Worthless brain!"

"On a scale of one to ten-"

"Not now, Baymax!"

Tadashi smacked his head against the cold wall of the garage a few more times, yelling insult after insult against himself. He had dragged Baymax into the garage where he and Hiro had always worked on inventions. It was Tadashi’s first time in the garage since the day of the showcase.

Tadashi knew that he himself could do nothing against the masked man. However, upon looking over Baymax, Tadashi saw endless amounts of potential.

It went against everything he studied. It went against everything he built Baymax for. Tadashi was not meant for this. Baymax’s role was providing healthcare. His own role was to advance the medical world, to help as many people as possible. He built the gentle bots, Hiro built the destructive ones.

But if it caught the masked man…

However, the college student quickly realized he did not have Hiro’s talent for building battle bots. He couldn’t figure it out. The answers had to be simple, but they just weren’t coming to him.

"I can’t believe this!" Tadashi moaned, collapsing into a nearby chair as he turned his hat backwards, "I’m a college student in a top robotics university and I can’t figure out something this simple? Ugh!"

His fist slammed down hard atop the desk, causing a stack of books and papers to topple and spill over the floor. Tadashi angrily gathered up the materials, Baymax trying his best to help out, despite having a hard time bending down too far.

"Hiro," the robot suddenly said.

Tadashi felt the annoyance bubbling over, sick and tired of the nurse bot constantly bringing up his brother’s name. But when he turned to yell at him, Tadashi saw that Baymax was staring at one of the books on the ground. He got closer, only to feel his heart drop when he saw what the book was.

A thick notebook, papers jutting out of it. The cover had silly pictures scribbled over it in a painfully familiar style. At the top, in giant red letters, was the name “Hiro”.

"…He used this book to design his battle bots," Tadashi whispered, eyes locked on the book as he went on one knee, "I gave it to him when he was twelve, said he could use it to put his ideas on paper. Didn’t expect him to focus so much on bot fighting…Page after page of the weirdest designs, what their capabilities were, what materials he could use…"

He could use this. Perhaps Hiro’s book could give him the ideas he needed to get his project underway. As his fingers lightly grazed the cover, Tadashi found himself smiling.

"Hamada Bros Rule 76," he chuckled.

"Rule 76?" Baymax repeated.

"Hiro and I made a bunch of secret brother rules growing up," Tadashi explained, the memories washing over him, "Four hundred and fifty-seven of them. We memorized every one of them too. Most of them were silly things, but…"

But each rule held a special memory for them.

"Rule 76," Tadashi recited from memory, "Hamada bros do not touch, steal, and/or borrow each other’s inventions/ideas unless given explicit permission or if the end of the world is nigh."

"Oh, I am familiar with that rule," Baymax noted.

Tadashi was too focused on the notebook to puzzle over the odd statement. He picked up the notebook, getting to his feet as he slowly started to flip through the pages.

"This may be an end of the world scenario," he murmured, "…Think you can lend me a hand, baby brother?"

~~~~~

He should’ve figured after showing Baymax off to Hiro, his brother’s mind would immediately go to how to make the bot “cooler”. Tadashi couldn’t help but laugh when he found several pages of Hiro’s drawings of Baymax in several types of armor, the notes in the margins jumping between scientific jargon and the teen’s usual snark. As Tadashi read over the notes, he settled on a design that looked simple yet useful enough. The padding would protect the soft balloon bot from harm. And the harder material would give Baymax a painful punch.

With Hiro’s notes giving him the inspiration, Tadashi found the programming part to be simpler than expected. He downloaded several videos from the karate tournaments he had been in, adding in some footage from some of the action films that were gathering dust on the shelves in his room. He downloaded all the information onto a single red chip, signing it with a frowning face.

~~~~~

"Tadashi, I do not understand how this armor and karate will make me a better healthcare companion," Baymax said as Tadashi led the bot to the karate studio, which happened to be closed for the day.

"You protect and heal the sick and injured, Baymax," Tadashi explained as he used his spare key to get into the building, "That masked man might end up causing a ton of injuries with what he’s planning. If you take him down, you can stop that from ever happening. It’s just some…preventive care."

Tadashi quickly set up some boards and training dummies. He made a mental note to apologize to his sensei for the extra damage he’d be causing, if the programming worked out properly. He held up a board and braced himself.

"Alright, buddy, let’s see you break this!"

Baymax took a second to analyze the board before striking swiftly, the board breaking in two right in the middle. Tadashi gasped and then let out a laugh before dragging over a pile of cinderblocks.

"How about this?" Tadashi asked.

He coughed as Baymax shattered the blocks with his elbow, kicking up a ton of dust. Tadashi grinned; the armor was working perfectly in giving Baymax the strength he needed. He brought Baymax over to the striking post he had set up.

"Let’s practice those strikes of yours," Tadashi could feel the energy pulsing through him, "But, more importantly, I need to see if you can control yourself."

"Control myself?" Baymax repeated.

"Strike the makiwara but don’t break it. That strength of yours will mean nothing if you can’t stay in control."

Baymax obliterated the makiwara in one hit. Mentally tallying up the costs, Tadashi led Baymax to the next post. As the hours passed, Baymax gained more and more control.

"Atta boy!" Tadashi cried, "That was great! I knew you had it in you! Fist bump!"

He held up his fist, a large grin on his face. Baymax tilted his head as he looked at the fist.

"Fist bump?" he said questioningly, "I don’t have that attack stored in my database."

"No, buddy, it’s…ah…something people do when they’re happy and wanna celebrate. Let me show you."

"Okay, first it’s like this," Tadashi manipulated the robot’s hand carefully for the first part, "Now, make a fist. And then we connect them. Ready for the last part?"

Tadashi pulled his fist away, wiggling his fingers and making an explosion noise. He snickered as Baymax repeated the noise in his own way.

"You’re a fast learner," Tadashi smiled. He took a deep breath, looking at how dark it was outside. Tadashi reached into his pocket and pulled out the petri dish with the microbot, "Now let’s put this knowledge to use."

~~~~~

Tadashi and Baymax hid behind the giant shipping container, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

The microbot had brought the pair to the piers, the bot flying out of Tadashi’s grasp. The two hid as the masked man appeared out of the fog, riding a wave of microbots. Tadashi narrowed his eyes at the strange, algae covered machine that the microbots dropped onto the pier. A red bird was painted on the side.

"What could he need that for?" Tadashi wondered under his breath, "What is it?”

"Tadashi, shall I use my karate?" Baymax asked.

"Yeah, let’s do this, Bay-"

Tadashi covered his eyes with his arms as a sudden light blinded him. He peered in the direction of the light to see a van there…A very familiar van.

"Baymax, please tell me you didn’t…" Tadashi groaned.

"Tadashi!" Honey Lemon’s voice called.

“Baymax!” he shouted.

"I contacted your friends earlier to see if talking with them would improve your emotional state," Baymax explained.

"But I told you not to-"

"Tadashi!" Fred shouted gleefully, hooking an arm around his shoulders, "Long time, no see!"

"We saw you sneaking around the alleys, so we followed you," Honey stated.

"What are you doing out here so late?" Wasabi questioned. The man did a double take, "…Is that Baymax?"

"Is he wearing carbon fiber underpants?" Gogo asked, giving Tadashi a look, "I thought bot fighting wasn’t your thing."

"Guys, listen, it’s great to see you," Tadashi talked rapidly, his eyes darting to where the masked man was before, "Really, it is, but I need you to leave."

"Tadashi, please stop driving us away," Honey placed a hand gently on his shoulder, "We’re your friends, aren’t we?"

"No, I seriously need you guys to go!"

Tadashi smacked his forehead as Baymax started talking about his emotional state and how they should share their feelings. Part of him was curious as to what Fred was going to say, but the answer died down the second the shipping crate came flying at them.

After making sure his friends were safe, Tadashi glared as the masked man looked down on them. He was about to order Baymax to fight when Gogo grabbed his arm and dragged him into the van, shoving him in the back between Honey and Fred. Baymax ended up joining them seconds later, crashing atop the van.

“ _What were you thinking_?!” Gogo screamed at him, taking over the wheel upon getting annoyed at Wasabi’s super safe driving, unfitting a car chase.

"I was thinking about taking that guy down!" Tadashi shouted in return, maneuvering himself into the now empty front seat. His chest started to hurt, a wave of nausea coming over him, "I have to…"

"Are you nuts?" Wasabi asked, flinching at every close turn and near collision Gogo caused, "That guy’s trying to kill us, Tadashi!”

"Classic supervillain, we’ve seen too much," Fred piped up from the backseat.

"C’mon, we don’t know for sure he’s trying to kill us," Honey giggled nervously. A car nearly slammed atop them, "Okay, he’s trying to kill us!"

"He won’t kill us!" Tadashi glared out the window, spotting the masked man right at their heels. He couldn’t breathe, "N-not if you let Baymax and me take him!"

His breathing quickened with each second. Too fast, they were going too fast.

"W-w-we have to s-stop him!"

Those were sparks he saw come from the tires.

"If we don’t, he can hurt p-people! We have to…!"

He smelled the water. The car started to turn around and around as it rode the tunnel of microbots.

"We have to-!"

"Tadashi, you’re starting to hyperventilate!" Honey exclaimed worriedly.

He felt like he couldn’t breathe. The smell of water, the squeal of tires, the sparks, the swerving and twisting of the car.

It was too much like the nightmares of his childhood…The ones of what he imagined his parents and Hiro went through that rainy day a decade ago.

"Stop the car, stop the car, stop the car," he kept muttering over and over, his heart pulsing rapidly.

"Tadashi, we can’t!" Gogo yelled, "Not with that man after us!"

The man…Tadashi tore his thoughts away from his nightmares, focusing on him.

"I have to stop that man!" Tadashi gasped, hitting the dashboard to try and calm down, "He set the fire at the hall! He’s responsible for Hiro and the professor… _He killed my brother_!”

What his friends were about to say in response he didn’t know, because at that moment the car splashed and sunk into the waters.

~~~~~

Honestly, it was a surprise no one had called the cops or something on the group of five young adults and a giant marshmallow bot, all soaking wet and making their way down the street in a very posh neighborhood.

Tadashi was glad he had decided on the huggable design for Baymax, because he and his friends may have drowned otherwise. As it were right now, they’d catch hypothermia if they didn’t find a place to warm up.

He shuddered as he remembered practically losing it when the car sank into the water. Of course, he was already losing it before then. It was because of those panic attacks that he had gotten caught those two times by the police. He’d start driving recklessly, only for the nightmares to come to his mind, and then he would freeze up in the middle of a busy intersection or end up on the sidewalk, getting him caught. They never happened when he had to drive like that to save Hiro from bot fights or on that day long ago with the hovercraft, though perhaps that was because he had been too focused on Hiro at those moments, whether it be scolding him or keeping him safe.

It wasn’t driving recklessly itself that triggered it. It was the swerving and twisting. It was why he refused to go on roller coasters. It got especially bad if water was involved. It was why he’d plead while crying when he was younger for his aunt not to go out on rainy days.

"Tadashi," Baymax’s voice broke him out of his thoughts, "I apologize for not taking care of your health needs earlier. My sensors detected a spike in your adrenaline and the tension of your chest and throat muscles."

"It’s okay, Baymax," Tadashi pat the robot’s arm gently, "We were kinda in the middle of a chase, so you couldn’t attend to me right then and there."

Tadashi glanced ahead and saw his friends watching him with concern.

"Really, guys! I…I’m fine," Tadashi said. He forced himself to smile for them, "Sorry I worried you."

"Sorry I made you panic," Gogo replied, elbowing him in the side a little.

"…I really have missed you guys."

"Ohh, we missed you too, Tadashi!" Honey was sniffling a bit as she smiled at him.

"The five amigos are back together again!" Fred shouted excitedly.

"I’d be happier if we didn’t just escape with our lives from some weirdo in a mask," Wasabi added.

"Way to kill the mood, Wasabi," Gogo chuckled.

"Your body temperatures are decreasing with each minute," Baymax stated, "It is crucial that you get warmed up as soon as possible."

"Don’t worry, we’ve reached our destination!" Fred said.

Everyone stared at the giant mansion before them. Gogo, Honey, and Wasabi were quick to question Fred living in such a fancy place…until the butler named Heathcliff showed up.

"How are you not shocked?” Wasabi asked Tadashi.

"I ended up here once," Tadashi responded with a shrug, "It was after Baymax’s 72nd test run…"

He saw Gogo, Honey, and Wasabi staring at him in confusion.

"Trust me, you don’t wanna know," Tadashi insisted as he watched Baymax fist bump Heathcliff.

~~~~~

A very toasty Baymax lay atop Tadashi, his friends all leaning against him to warm up. While Gogo, Honey, and Wasabi talked with Fred about his room, Tadashi drew the strange symbol he saw on the side of that machine the masked man retrieved from the ocean.

When he showed his friends the symbol, no one recognized it. Tadashi furrowed his brow, trying to figure out the puzzle. Was it the brand from some obscure company? What kind of company? And why was it in the ocean? More importantly, what exactly was that thing?

"Tadashi, were you serious about that masked man?" Honey asked after everyone was properly warmed and were seated on the couch, "Did…Did he really start the fire?"

"All signs point to him," Tadashi clenched the pencil in his hand so tightly it snapped, his eyes pointed at the drawing of the bird, "He did it to steal those microbots and two innocent people paid for it."

The room grew quiet at that.

"A masked criminal, a mysterious machine, murder…" Wasabi scoffed, "What is this? A cartoon?"

"Who could that guy even be?" Gogo asked, "Who could have wanted Hiro’s microbots that badly?”

"I know!" Fred shouted, suddenly running to the shelves of the room.

The others all gaped at him as he went on and on about the criminals of the comics he showed them. All of them being secret rich folks in disguise.

"Which means our masked man can be none other than…" Fred turned on the TV, "Alistair Krei!"

“What?” was all the others could reply with.

It was absolutely bizarre and weird and impossible…And yet, Fred’s reasoning made sense, which seemed most strange of all. Krei had wanted Hiro’s microbots, would’ve nearly stolen one if Tadashi hadn’t brought it up the night of the showcase. There was also the fact that there seemed to be something between him and Professor Callaghan. Something was wrong…

"Krei’s gotta be the guy behind the mask!" Fred concluded.

"He’s so high profile though!" Wasabi argued.

"But Freddy does make some good points," Honey said thoughtfully.

"Alright, so what’re we doing?" Gogo questioned.

"Tadashi," Baymax started, "I am sensing that you are stressed. Your blood cortisol levels are escalating rapidly."

All eyes turned to Tadashi, who was staring at the picture of Krei on the screen, the drawing of the bird being crumpled up in his shaking hand.

"Tadashi?" Honey called out.

Tadashi turned to his friends, an unnaturally cold expression on his face.

"Where can we find him?" he asked in a low voice, "I have some questions for Mr. Krei…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done! Ooh, a slight change up from the plot, huh? Like I said, gotta figure out how Hiro and Tadashi would react, how they'd be similar in some respects but different in others. Hiro may have decided upon the superhero thing pretty quickly. But I'm not going that route for Tadashi (I mean the automatically deciding on superhero route...he's still gonna be a superhero). Tadashi is angry and grieving and in a bad state, but I feel like he'd switch between actions based on rage and actions based on logic. Krei's the prime suspect? Then, he has some questions for the guy…Also, if the scene where Tadashi is teaching the fist bump to Baymax sounds familiar, may I suggest going back to chapter 1 of this story for a few seconds? By the way, the 457 Hamada Bros rules thing isn't my own invention, that's an actual thing. In one of the Big Hero 6 books called "Hiro and Tadashi", the boys actually have at least 457 rules. Rule 76 itself is one that I made up. Rule 457 mentioned back in chapter 3 is a canon rule though.
> 
> By the way, I am learning more and more about karate and the science behind stress, depression, and panic attacks and personal loss than I ever thought possible. The art of breaking things in karate is known as tameshiwari, not as common nowadays but still there. The makiwara is basically a striking post that's padded and used for practicing strikes, useful in not only practicing one's own strikes but also conditioning someone to handle the force behind other people's strikes. Actually, the makiwara isn't really used in Western school, due to health concerns, but San Fransokyo is basically a mix of East and West anyways. I ended up reading for a few hours on the science behind stress/depression/panic attacks, mostly because I kept getting distracted by more and more articles I found. I also spent way more time reading up on personal loss articles than I planned to.
> 
> I'm kinda annoyed because on the one hand, I love doing all this research because I am someone who strives for accuracy, though I may not be perfect all the time. But on the other hand, I'll do hours upon hours' worth of research, only to put 1-2% of that research into my writing. I mean, there was so much more science I could've added to Baymax's diagnosis, but that would be way too much for a diagnosis. I could've gone into a lot more detail regarding the scene in the karate studio, but I figured it would be far too much and a bit too complex. 99% of the things I read on personal loss weren't even put into that scene. I even read a whole article on white noise for the sake of a couple throwaway lines. It's for the sake of the story, but I still can't help but feel bad that over 95% of that research doesn't get put into the story. Eh, well at least I'm learning new things every day, right?
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all keep reading and reviewing, please!


	9. So Much More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so here I am again for another chapter of this fic! Sorry it took so long but I just finished my finals today, so those take priority for me! But I'm back now! 
> 
> By the way, I did get time to go back and edit the previous eight chapters of the story. All I did was fix up the grammar and wording of a few sentences. Also, here and there, I added in a couple of lines. Nothing too major or anything, just little extra things to add to the scene or that are in relation to stuff that happened in later chapters.
> 
> Anyways, it's on with the story! So Krei is currently our prime suspect as the masked bastard…Meaning Tadashi wants to exchange some words with him…What's in store for the gang now? Let's see!
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is not own by WillowBlueJay17, who is merely a 21 going on 22 year old girl who likes crying over fictional siblings.

"Questions?" Wasabi repeated, gaping at Tadashi, "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I meant exactly what I just said," Tadashi stated, glaring at the frozen image of Krei’s face on the television screen.

"Are you serious?" Gogo asked, going over to Tadashi and punching his arm, "You really think a big shot like Alistair Krei is gonna go around wearing a kabuki mask and attack people with a bunch of mini robots?"

"Gogo, he’s the perfect fit!" Fred cried, "And he does have a motive."

"But it really doesn’t make sense," Honey shook her head, biting her thumb, "I mean, why go through such lengths? And what is he up to now?"

"I don’t know," Tadashi said as he started to pace in circles, "But we do know this: Krei wanted Hiro’s microbots. Krei and Professor Callaghan had some bad blood between them. Krei was there the night of the fire.”

He stopped to look at his friends, who were all watching him patiently.

"The masked man could just be some random guy," Tadashi admitted, "…But until we can clarify that, Krei’s a suspect."

The room grew silent at that statement. Tadashi knew how much of a longshot it was that someone as much in the public eye as Krei was the masked man. But the circumstances made him suspicious, meaning Tadashi wanted to find him.

"…You’re hopeless," Gogo sighed, "…But I guess you have a point."

"Wow, never thought Gogo would agree with one of my theories," Fred grinned.

"Hey, I’m agreeing with Tadashi, not you."

"But she’s agreeing with me technically, right?" Fred whispered to Honey.

"Of course, Freddy," Honey giggled as she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay, so what’s the plan then? Hmm?" Wasabi looked at the others expectantly, "We just waltz into Krei Tech and demand to see their CEO?"

~~~~~

"Hello, you have reached Krei Tech!"

"Hello, this is-"

"For information about tours of our facilities, dial one. For information regarding the history of Krei Tech, dial two…"

"Of course it’s automated…"

Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, and Fred all leaned in close to Tadashi, who was seated on the couch, holding out his cellphone that was on speaker. They yawned as they listened to the aggravatingly calm automated voice list the different options.

Wasabi’s remark about just going to Krei Tech unannounced had sounded quite appealing. But Tadashi Hamada wasn’t an idiot. No matter how badly he wanted to confront Krei, he knew that the man would have a ton of security at his building. It’d be near impossible for anyone, let alone a bunch of college students, to enter the building and get a glimpse of the man.

So they’d have to do things the slow and legal way.

"To schedule an appointment, dial 15…" the voice on the phone said.

"Finally," Tadashi muttered as he did as the voice said, a short ringing filling the air.

"Hello!" the automated voice greeted once more, "You have stated your desire to schedule an appointment. If you would like an appointment with our researching staff, dial one."

The group of five all let out groans as the voice went through another long list.

"Tadashi," Baymax said as he walked up to the couch, standing directly behind Tadashi, "I am sensing an increase in cortisol and norepinephrine in your bloodstream. Are you stressed again?"

"I’m okay, buddy," Tadashi answered, waving off Baymax’s concern.

"If you are stressed, may I suggest a shoulder massage to relieve some tension?"

"Baymax, I don’t need-"

"Dude, he gives massages?” Fred asked, scooting over as he gently pushed Tadashi away, “Hit me, robo man!”

"Hitting you would be a direct violation of my protocol," Baymax stated, tilting his head at Fred.

"…To schedule an appointment with our CEO, Alistair Krei, dial 22…"

Tadashi, too busy smirking at Fred trying to explain that it was just an expression to Baymax, would’ve missed the statement if Gogo didn’t reach over and dial for him. The twenty year old was seconds away from throwing his phone at the wall when he heard the typical hold music start up. But, thankfully, a ringing noise quickly replaced the music. The group quieted down as they awaited an answer.

"Hello, this is Mr. Krei’s secretary, who may I ask is calling?" a woman’s voice asked.

"Um, hello," Tadashi started awkwardly, "I would like to request a meeting with Mr. Krei, please."

"And this would be…?" the woman asked once more.

Tadashi looked at his friends with wide eyes. Honestly, they really should’ve planned out something to say before getting to this point. Honey grabbed the phone from Tadashi.

"Hello, we’re writers for the Daily Tech Talk," she lied surprisingly smoothly, "It’s the technology section of the school paper we have over at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. We were hoping we could conduct an interview with Mr. Krei to feature in the next edition."

"A college paper interview," the woman on the line repeated thoughtfully, "Hmm, it sounds intriguing but you must know that Mr. Krei is a very busy man, especially as of late."

"W-we understand, ma’am," Tadashi stated, wincing at the usual squeak in his voice that appeared when he tried to lie, "But it would be such an honor to have an interview with a leader of the tech field like Mr. Krei! His words can reach a bunch of aspiring young inventors at our college too."

There was a pause, the woman on the line making a couple noises that sounded like she was considering the idea. Tadashi knew that she was probably thinking about all the promising inventors and scientists that had come from SFIT and how getting Krei’s influence to them early on could be beneficial.

"Hmm, well, I think we can get Mr. Krei to conduct a short interview with you guys," the woman finally stated, Tadashi and his friends sharing smiles at their success as a sound of rustling papers came over the phone, "I can schedule you guys for a meeting three weeks from today, in the morning."

“ _What_?!” Tadashi shouted before adding in a quieter tone, “Sorry about that. W-we can’t wait that long!”

"I apologize, but as I said, Mr. Krei is very busy now. I know you want to feature him in your paper, but that is the earliest I can fit you-"

Tadashi hung up, letting out a growl of frustration.

"Well, there’s goes Plan A," Gogo muttered as she started to blow a bubble with her gum.

"Time for Plan B then," Tadashi sighed as he glanced over at Wasabi.

"…You gotta be kidding," Wasabi muttered in disbelief.

It seemed it was time for the fast and reckless way.

~~~~~

Krei Tech wasn’t hard to find. It was large, fancy, and the light reflected off its windows and bright white walls made the place practically sparkle.

Plan B had taken most of the night to work out, so Tadashi, Gogo, Honey, Wasabi, and Fred didn’t get a chance to carry it out until the next morning. Tadashi had Baymax stay at home, lying to Aunt Cass about wanting some alone time with his friends for a few hours, figuring that the robot would definitely draw too much attention to the group.

"There’s our target, people," Fred whispered as the group of five hid among the trees and bushes a few feet away from the plaza in front of the building.

"You got the stuff, Honey?" Gogo asked.

"All ready!" Honey replied in a musical tone, patting a plastic bag filled to the brim with small, colorful balls.

"I still think this is completely crazy!" Wasabi exclaimed, glaring at Tadashi, "Man, you always seemed like the reasonable one in this group but now…"

"Well, if you can come up with another plan right now, go ahead and tell us," Tadashi told him as he adjusted his hat.

The five friends went closer to the plaza until they were standing behind the hedges at the very edge of the plaza. Tadashi took a quick peek around the hedges to clarify the situation.

In front of the main entrance of Krei Tech were two security guards. There were bound to be more inside, but they had planned for that as well. In the plaza were a bunch of people, almost all of whom had identical blue and white cards clipped to their shirts. Visitor passes. So long as Tadashi and the others could get those passes, they could move on with the rest of their plan.

It was super risky, every bit of this was. Forget getting scolded or paying fines, they could go to jail for this.

But if it meant Tadashi could get to Krei, he didn’t mind that. He was less confident about risking his friends in the process. In fact, he had spent half the night trying to convince the others not to get involved, to leave it all to him. But the gang had made it clear they would stick by him.

"Alright, let’s do this," Tadashi nodded at Honey and Gogo, "You’re on."

Honey let out an excited giggle as she pulled out a small vial from her pocket. She opened it and spilled its contents into the plastic bag of balls, causing a slight sizzling sound to come from it. Honey then walked quickly but casually into the plaza, making her way towards a small group of visitors just a couple feet away. As soon as she got within arm’s reach of the group, Honey “accidentally” dropped her plastic bag.

As soon as the bag and its contents hit the ground, the balls turned into pink and purple and blue colored goo that spread and covered everyone’s feet, including Honey’s.

"Oh no, I am so sorry!" Honey apologized convincingly as the others who were stuck with her glared at her and tried desperately to free themselves from the super sticky goo.

The security guards who had been in front of the entrance saw the commotion and raced over, ending up stuck in the goo as well. As everyone complained and struggled, Gogo quickly and quietly ran over and started to carefully snatch visitor passes. Once she had enough, with a flick of her wrist, she sent them sailing over the hedges to where Tadashi, Wasabi, and Fred were. The boys clipped on the passes and made their way over to Gogo.

"Alright, let’s go," she stated, making a move to turn before pausing.

The friends looked down as Gogo’s feet, noticing that she had accidentally ended up stuck in the goo. Gogo stared at an apprehensive Honey Lemon.

"Honey!" she growled.

"Y-you can’t really blame me for this, Gogo," Honey chuckled nervously before addressing the boys, "I think you three should go on without us for now."

"Good luck," Tadashi murmured as he, Wasabi, and Fred went past the stuck bunch of people and made their way into Krei Tech.

Time would tell if the rest of Plan B would work out.

~~~~~

"Ooh, careful!"

Aunt Cass raced over to stop the table Baymax had bumped into from falling. The giant marshmallow bot didn’t mean any harm, she knew that. However, it was just too cramped in the café for him to walk around. She had tried to get him to stay upstairs, but the bot had said something about observing her.

Well, at least it was a very slow day, absolutely no one being in the café.

"I know Tadashi said he wanted some alone time with his friends," she sighed as she grabbed a donut, "And I’m happy he’s finally talking to them again, I really am! But I’m not meant to babysit robots."

"I am sorry, Cass, am I inconveniencing you?" Baymax asked, standing in the only corner of the room with enough space for him to comfortably stay in place.

"It’s okay, Baymax," Aunt Cass answered, taking a bite of the donut, "You’re just fine."

As Baymax turned his attention towards Mochi, who was resting atop the counter near the register, Aunt Cass walked over to where they were, staring at the few pictures that lined the walls.

Her eyes landed on a picture of her, Tadashi, and Hiro, taken the day of Tadashi’s big speech at the end of his freshman year at college. She then glanced over at a picture of the boys with Marie and Tomeo, from when they went to an amusement park. A small smile made its way on Aunt Cass’ face as her fingers brushed against the picture.

"Are you feeling alright, Cass?" she heard Baymax ask from behind her.

Aunt Cass turned to him, sniffling just a bit.

"O-of course I am. Why do you ask?"

"I sensed a drop in your serotonin and dopamine levels while you were looking at those pictures," Baymax responded, "Are you feeling sad?"

Aunt Cass sighed before letting out a small chuckle.

"Tadashi really programmed you well, didn’t he?" she asked before glancing over at the pictures once more, her smile faltering, "…Yeah, I’m sad. My family seems to keep getting smaller and smaller…And I can’t do anything to stop it."

Baymax remained quiet as Aunt Cass leaned against the counter, reaching a hand out to scratch Mochi’s head.

"My mother died of a heart attack when I was in college," Aunt Cass said in a whisper, "Dad died a year later. Broken heart, I’m sure. Marie, my big sister, was all I had for years. And then she met Tomeo and they got married and I felt happier than I had in a long time. And then came those two adorable nephews of mine."

Aunt Cass felt her eyes watering as she remembered that phone call on that rainy day ten years ago.

"In a blink of an eye, my sister and my brother-in-law were gone. And I became a surrogate parent to Tadashi and Hiro. I was nowhere near perfect, but we were happy."

Her hand slipped off Mochi and wiped away the tears starting to fall from her cheeks.

"…Hiro wasn’t supposed to die," her voice cracked, "He was just a baby… _My_ little baby. I still remember holding him at the hospital and attending his award ceremonies. How could he be gone?”

"Hiro is here," Baymax told her.

Aunt Cass grabbed a nearby tissue and wiped her eyes and nose before smiling softly at the nurse bot.

"Yeah, I know," she said, “‘The ones we love are always with us, so long as we remember them.’ People said that at the funeral for Marie and Tomeo. Even more said that at Hiro’s. It hurts to remember them. Because all I think about is how unfair all of this is. But it helps me too…"

She looked back over at the pictures, her eyes focusing on her older nephew.

"…It’s Tadashi I’m really worried about though. When his parents died, he cried for days, but then he suddenly became a little adult. I guess he felt like he had to grow up so he could take care of Hiro. Now that Hiro’s gone, he’s just so…lost. He cried and screamed for so long at first, but now he just seems empty. He’s keeping secrets from me, I know he is. And he always feels uncomfortable at the slightest mention of Hiro. He’s upset and angry."

"His TSH and norepinephrine levels are rather low and he has consistently high cortisol levels," Baymax added.

"…I’ll take your word for it," Aunt Cass responded, "Tadashi is suffering more than I am, I’m sure of it. I don’t wanna push him to talk to me, but he just seems to be bottling up all his feelings, only for them to show up in these random bursts. And I’m scared."

"I’m scared what’ll happen when he reaches his breaking point."

~~~~~

So far, so good.

Tadashi, Wasabi, and Fred had managed to sneak past the people in the main lobby of Krei Tech, most of them too preoccupied with the disaster outside courtesy of Honey. There were still a few guards left inside, but they let the boys go when they saw their visitor passes. Although they did give Fred some grief over his pass having the name “Stephanie” on it.

The three of them carefully explored the floors of Krei Tech. If it wasn’t for the mission, Tadashi would’ve loved to have taken a proper tour of the place. He knew Professor Callaghan seemed to dislike, practically hate, Krei. Tadashi himself felt uneasy about the guy because of how his professor felt. But Tadashi had to admit that Krei Tech had some impressive stuff.

Sleek and shiny machines, futuristic robots that he had only ever seen in Fred’s comics, even a few swanky looking holograms. Krei Tech really was something else.

Tadashi shook his head, trying to snap himself out of it. He could geek out over the tech at a later date. It was Krei he needed to deal with first.

The boys entered an elevator and headed to the top floor, figuring that the CEO of the company would most likely have his office at the top of the building. As they rode up, Fred sung a made up song to the tune of the elevator music.

"I still say we’re nuts trying to do this," Wasabi muttered.

"Hey, c’mon, Wasabi!" Fred exclaimed, patting the taller man’s back, "At least we have a plan, right?"

"And we all know how much you love plans," Tadashi added with a smirk.

"Excuse me for wanting some order in life!" Wasabi retorted. He sighed before looking over at Tadashi, whose eyes were fixed on the elevator doors, his hands clenching and relaxing every few seconds, "Tadashi, you _do_ know how unlikely it is that Krei’s gonna reveal anything, right?”

"Of course I know that," Tadashi answered, "I’m not expecting any clear cut answers. But I’m sure I can get _something_ out of him.”

"That’s the spirit, Tadashi!" Fred said, slinging his arm around Tadashi’s shoulder, "Determined, eyes on the goal…Just like a true superhero leader!"

"Who said anything about superheroes?" Wasabi asked.

Before Fred could go off on one of his superhero spiels, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. The three of them quietly exited the elevator. The hallway was empty and quiet, save for the sound of people typing away on keyboards behind closed doors. Tadashi peeked around a nearby corner. At the very end of the hallway was a door with a gold plaque on it, two security guards standing near it.

That just had to be Alistair Krei’s office.

"Time for the second half of Plan B," Tadashi whispered to the other two.

"This is just wrong and I can’t believe we’re gonna do this," Wasabi hissed, "…But you’re my best friend and if it helps find justice for the little man, we might as well do it."

"Get ready to spring into action, Tadashi," Fred said.

Tadashi nodded at them before slipping into a nearby bathroom, leaving the door open just slightly so he could observe what was about to happen. Wasabi walked over to a nearby fire alarm, his hand trembling as he reached for it and retracted his hand several times. Fred, apparently growing tired of waiting for Wasabi, yanked down the alarm. Tadashi covered his ears as the high pitched warning bells went off.

"Hey, you two!" Tadashi heard a man yell before he watched Wasabi and Fred get grabbed by the security guards.

One of the guards typed in something on a keypad next to the fire alarm, causing the warning bells to shut off and an automated voice to come over the speaker, stating that it was a false alarm.

"How’d you two even get in here?" one guard asked angrily as he and his buddy dragged Wasabi and Fred off.

Fred launched into a wild tale, his voice growing more and more distant before disappearing completely. Tadashi waited a few seconds more before exiting the bathroom and heading towards the now unguarded door. As he had thought, the plaque on the door had Krei’s name on it. Tadashi took a deep breath to try and still his nerves before he knocked on the door.

"Come in," Krei’s voice answered.

Tadashi’s hand shook slightly before he opened the door and entered the large and classy office. There were shelves and bookcases lined with awards and some thick books. There were a few miniature models of buildings and robots on nearby tables, and stacks upon stacks of papers everywhere. Reports and blueprints, from what Tadashi could see. Over on the other side of the room, sitting as his desk and typing away at his computer, was Alistair Krei.

A spark of anger sprung up in Tadashi at the sight of the man, but he took a deep breath, walking over to the desk.

"Oh," Krei said in surprise as he looked up from the computer to properly greet his guest, "I was expecting you to be one of my guards."

"Mr. Krei," Tadashi greeted in a tense tone, "Do you remember me?"

Krei leaned back in his chair, his eyes running over Tadashi’s form once.

"You’re familiar, that’s for sure," Krei answered, "…Wait…The showcase at SFIT. You were there with that microbots boy."

"Hiro," Tadashi cut in, "His name was Hiro Hamada. I’m his older brother, Tadashi."

"Your brother?" Krei repeated, "I see. I…heard about the fire. I’m sorry for your loss."

Tadashi didn’t trust himself to speak, instead nodding slightly at Krei’s words. They sounded sincere, but Tadashi couldn’t say for certain if that was true. Krei looked out the window, a strange expression on his face.

"Robert died in that fire too," Krei said, "To think that man could be gone…A shame. I wonder if he’s finally at peace…"

Tadashi’s nails were digging into his palms.

"Mind if I ask you some questions, Mr. Krei?" the twenty year old asked.

"Well, you don’t have an appointment, but I suppose I can spare you a few minutes," Krei replied, a smile on his face as he leaned forward a little.

Tadashi noticed how tense Krei was, despite the rather casual tone of voice. Of course he’d be on edge, considering there was a strange man in his office and his guards had their hands full at the moment. But those guards would be back anytime soon, so Tadashi had to get to work quickly. He grabbed a nearby chair and took a seat, staring down Krei.

"Mr. Krei, I didn’t see you after the fire at SFIT," Tadashi didn’t feel the need to add that he himself had been in no state to care for Krei’s presence or lack of it that night, "Where’d you go?"

"I had already seen the other interesting exhibits at the showcase," Krei answered simply, "After not getting your brother’s remarkable microbots, I saw no need to stay any further. So I left."

"You really wanted Hiro’s microbots, didn’t you?"

"Of course," Krei chuckled, "The most fascinating piece of technology I had seen in years. To think that tech and the mind that created it are gone. I wouldn’t have minded asking young Hiro to work for me sometime in the future."

Tadashi had a few choice words about that statement but kept them to himself. He couldn’t lose it, not now. So he continued on.

"You and Professor Callaghan…There’s something going on, isn’t there?"

"Robert and I have had some…misunderstandings," Krei paused, looking at Tadashi and narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, "Is…there some point to these questions, Mr. Hamada?"

Tadashi saw, out of the corner of his eye, Krei’s hand reach under his desk. Perhaps there was a hidden panic button? Tadashi had to assume he had little time left. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled paper from last night.

"Mr. Krei, does this symbol mean anything to you?" Tadashi questioned, flattening the paper and pushing it towards Krei.

It was only for a few brief seconds, but Tadashi caught it. The widening of his eyes, the twitch of his fingers, the way he seemed to stop breathing in that moment.

Krei recognized the symbol.

"…Where did you see this?" Krei asked quietly, one hand holding the paper.

"So you recognize it then?" Tadashi retorted, his hands gripping the arms of his chair.

"You’re avoiding my question, Mr. Hamada," the aggravation in Krei’s voice was becoming clearer with each word.

"I could say the same for you," Tadashi spat.

Krei leaned forward, a dangerous look on his face. Tadashi, despite his anger towards the man, felt a slight twinge of worry in the pit of his stomach.

"Mr. Hamada, it would do you well to tell me where you saw this symbol," Krei stated in a cool tone.

"…A masked man used a neuro-cranial transmitter and grabbed a machine with this symbol on it out of the ocean using my brother’s stolen microbots."

"Is this a joke to you, Mr. Hamada?"

“ _Does it look like I’m joking_?” Tadashi growled.

Before the conversation could continue any further, Tadashi was yanked out of his chair by a couple pairs of arms. The guards were back and glaring at him.

"Tadashi!"

The guards moved Tadashi so he could see his friends, each being held by a guard. Gogo was giving him a death glare, her shoes missing and the bottom part of her tights ripped off. Honey’s shoes were gone too, as was her left sock, but she still smiled, albeit anxiously. Wasabi looked completely and utterly done with the situation. Fred, meanwhile, seemed to be taking the whole thing in stride.

"You five are in a lot of trouble," one of the guards holding Tadashi snarled, "Let’s see how the police like this."

"There’ll be no need for that," Krei stated.

Tadashi was surprised and wary as Krei made his way over to the group, standing before Tadashi.

"I’ll take care of any issues caused," Krei told the guards, "There’s no need to press charges, you can let them go. After all, it’d be unfortunate for such promising young minds of SFIT to have their futures damaged by this."

Krei stepped closer to Tadashi, staring him right in the eye. Krei folded the paper neatly and placed it in the pocket of Tadashi’s blazer.

"And Mr. Hamada won’t repeat this incident, right?"

"…Of course not, Mr. Krei," Tadashi murmured.

Krei’s expression didn’t change at Tadashi’s words. The CEO gestured towards the door and the guards dragged the five college students out of the office and out of the building.

~~~~~

The group headed towards the Lucky Cat Café, Tadashi explaining the conversation he had with Krei along the way. Once they arrived, Aunt Cass had several questions, especially upon seeing Gogo and Honey without any shoes, but the group was able to wave off her concerns with a lie about a river and some squirrels. From the looks on girls’ faces, Tadashi had a feeling he’d regret the silly story one day. Aunt Cass told him that Baymax was charging in his bedroom, so the five friends made their way up there.

Gogo and Wasabi stood while Honey sat on Tadashi’s bed, massaging her sore feet. Fred was about to sit in Hiro’s chair but Tadashi gently grabbed his arm. Fred had an understanding look on his face before he decided to plop down beside Honey.

"So Krei really is connected to that machine," Wasabi stated.

"Whatever the meaning behind this symbol is, it’s big," Gogo added.

"It’s always the rich guys," Fred stated. He seemed to freeze for a second, "Wait, my dad keeps disappearing at random times too…"

"So Krei really could be the masked man then," Honey whispered as Fred started muttering to himself, "…But what do we do about it?"

The four of them looked over at Tadashi, who seemed lost in his thoughts. Tadashi really didn’t know what could be done now. Krei and the symbol were connected. So many things about Krei were setting off warning bells in Tadashi’s head.

"Tadashi, you’re back."

"Hey, Baymax," Tadashi greeted as Baymax stepped off his charging station and walked over to where the group was, "Aunt Cass mentioned that you were a great listener. I don’t know what happened, but thanks for whatever you did."

"I’m glad she is satisfied with her care," Baymax responded, "I only wish I could help you as well."

Tadashi smiled and went over to Baymax, patting him gently on the arm.

"Thanks, buddy, but unless you can tell me something about that masked guy…" Tadashi’s voice trailed off as a screen popped up on Baymax’s chest.

"His blood type is AB-," Baymax stated, "He weighs 173 pounds, and-"

"Wait, you scanned him?” Wasabi asked as Tadashi stared at the information.

"I neglected to record video of him as Tadashi suggested but I was able to scan him during our last encounter," Baymax explained as the five college students crowded around Baymax to look at the information.

"We can use this!" Tadashi let out a short laugh.

"And do what, exactly?" Gogo wondered.

Tadashi started to pace around, the gears in his head turning. The spark deep inside him growing brighter and brighter with this newfound chance.

"The police won’t believe us, that’s a fact," Tadashi started, "Based on Krei’s reaction, whatever that machine is, it’s part of something important. We don’t know what the masked man has in mind, but it can’t be anything good."

"Hold on, Tadashi," Honey said, "You’re not saying…?"

Tadashi stopped his pacing and looked at his friends, who were waiting expectantly. _Was_ that what he was saying? He slowly went over to Hiro’s bed. He glanced at the shelves that were lined with action figures of various characters from different shows.

Hiro always did love superheroes.

"…I think I have to fight him myself," Tadashi admitted.

The response to the statement was automatic. A string of remarks about how dangerous it would be, how he was nuts.

"I know it’s stupid, but I don’t have any other ideas!" he yelled, stopping his friends in their tracks, "That man, Krei, whoever he is! He killed Hiro and Professor Callaghan and now he’s planning something else. No one else is gonna stop him until it’s too late. We’re the only ones who know he’s real. So I have to fight him, to stop him before he gets his plan underway."

Tadashi watched his friends exchange glances momentarily.

"Don’t you mean _we_ have to fight him?” Gogo asked after a moment.

To say Tadashi was baffled was an understatement.

"Don’t look at us like that," Gogo snapped, "You’re our best friend, aren’t you?"

"Y-yeah, but-"

"And Hiro’s your little brother," Gogo interrupted him.

"He became part of our group in those weeks before the showcase," Honey added, looking a little wistful, "He was our friend too, whether he knew it or not."

"I may think this is all crazy," Wasabi said, "But like I told you at Krei Tech, if it helps find justice for Hiro, I’ll help."

"You can’t break up the five amigos a second time, Tadashi!" Fred exclaimed, "You wanna take on a supervillain, then you’re dragging all of us along for the ride!"

To add to Tadashi’s surprise, even Baymax stepped forward.

"Tadashi, you are my creator and my primary patient," the nurse bot stated, "If it helps to improve your health, I will aid you in catching the masked man."

Tadashi looked from Baymax to Gogo to Wasabi to Honey to Fred. He turned away from them, letting out a couple shuddering breaths as he felt a prickling sensation in his eyes.

He spotted Hiro’s notebook on the bed. Tadashi had taken it from the garage and placed it on Hiro’s bed after making the original armor for Baymax. The twenty year old picked up the thick notebook, fingers brushing against Hiro’s name on the cover.

"I really don’t want you guys getting in danger," Tadashi stated, still facing away from his friends, "I don’t wanna drag you into trouble you’re not ready for."

"Should’ve thought of that before you almost got us arrested earlier," Wasabi said sarcastically.

"And don’t talk like you _are_ ready for this,” Gogo stated, “We’re all a bunch of nerds, remember?”

"We are," Tadashi agreed, flicking through the pages of Hiro’s notebook.

Tadashi paused when he came across a few pages with some rather interesting notes and sketches. He flipped back and forth through those pages, reading over Hiro’s notes and starting to mentally add in some additions of his own.

"But…I think we can be so much more."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Whoo, this one is a long one, isn't it? And so, Tadashi and the gang are getting more and more suspicious of Krei. And it looks like Tadashi has accepted the idea that the only way to take down the masked bastard is by doing it himself…with a little help from his pals of course. And it seems that, yet again, Hiro is gonna be lending some help himself. Now I wanna make it clear, despite the fact that I've stated Hiro's smarter than Tadashi I'm not saying Tadashi needs Hiro's help. The thing is, Hiro is the battle bot guy while Tadashi's the easier going guy. Hiro makes robots that can beat up stuff. Tadashi makes robots that are gentle. It's not the robotics that Tadashi needs Hiro's assistance with, it's the battle part.
> 
> Anyways, thank you all for all the love and support you're giving this story! Please keep reading and reviewing and I'll see you all next chapter!


	10. A Little Help From My Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, guys! You know, I actually didn't realize it until yesterday, but the last chapter was my longest one yet! I don't have a word limit or anything for my chapters. But they tend to be between 3000-6000 words in length, most of them ending up somewhere in the 4000s. I usually just keep writing until I feel that the chapter is "done". But I don't like the idea of my chapters having uneven lengths compared to each other. I guess I'm a bit odd like that.
> 
> Anyways, we're on to the next chapter of the story! Time for the formation of Twist of Fate's Big Hero 6! I know the whole thing about the group becoming heroes was a short scene in the movie. But I wanted to expand it for my story. Both to expand upon the friendships between the group and also for the sake of Tadashi's healing. Well, hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: If I was as rich as Krei I could probably own Big Hero 6…But I'm not, so I can't.

The group met up at Fred’s place to discuss and plan what to do from now on. Heathcliff set out some tea and a tray piled high with cookies as everyone gathered around to peer at Hiro’s notebook.

Hiro may have been a child prodigy and had brains that could rival most adult roboticists’, but he was still a fourteen year old kid. And, for that kid, technology wasn’t really fun unless there was a certain Hiro Hamada certified awesomeness factor involved. Whenever Hiro had seen an invention that caught his interest, the boy would immediately think of ways it could be used in those action movies he loved so much or in his battle bots.

"Hiro thought up all of this?" Honey asked, awe in her tone as she took the notebook and flipped through page after page of designs and notes.

"He was probably too focused on the microbots, so there isn’t that much for us to work with," Tadashi replied with a chuckle, trying to ignore the pang in his heart and the feeling of his stomach dropping at the mention of Hiro, "But I knew the second he met you guys, his mind was already racing as to how to make your tech ‘battle ready’, as he’d say."

"What about me though?" Fred asked, "I mean, I love science but it’s not like I can invent like you guys."

Tadashi took the notebook from Honey and flipped the pages. He held out the book to Fred, whose eyes widened when he saw images of his mascot suit breathing fire and something like springs on the bottom of the suit’s feet.

"That is so awesome," Fred sighed happily.

"And there’s a ton of stuff in here for you too, Baymax," Wasabi mentioned.

Baymax made his way over to the group and stared at the book, which was now open to two pages showing several different armor designs for the bot.

"I feel that the armor will undermine my non-threatening, huggable design," Baymax stated, tilting his head in Tadashi’s direction.

"That’s kinda the point, buddy," Tadashi told him. He turned to look at everyone else, "Okay, the transmitter is in that guy’s mask, I’m sure of it. We get that mask and he’ll be powerless. Alright, with Hiro’s notes and all these big brains of ours, I think we can create some-"

Tadashi was cut off by a strange dinging noise. All eyes turned to Gogo, who took out her phone. Her eyebrows furrowed at whatever she saw on the screen.

"Is something wrong, Gogo?" Honey asked.

"I got a text from a friend at SFIT," she replied, looking up at the others, "She said Krei, a guy in a military uniform, and some other people in suits were there. Krei mentioned something about his military friend wanting to check out the tech at the school, but they were spending a lot of time in the student labs…especially yours, Tadashi."

Tadashi felt tense as everyone turned to look at him.

"Do you think it’s because of this morning?" Honey wondered.

"Has to be," Wasabi responded, nodding, "Krei’s suspicious about that symbol, so he wants to know if we have any more stuff related to it."

Suddenly, Tadashi’s phone rang loudly. He answered the call upon seeing Aunt Cass’ name on the caller ID.

"Tadashi?" Aunt Cass’ voice started nervously, the sound of people talking and moving heard in the background, "Um, sweetie, I need you to come home for a bit. There’re some people here who’ve been asking about you."

Tadashi gritted his teeth as he hung up. With a quick farewell to his friends, Tadashi grabbed Baymax and headed back to the Lucky Cat Café.

~~~~~

"Who are you guys?" Tadashi demanded as he entered the café, Baymax following close behind him.

Ten men and women in crisp black suits stood near the stairs that went up to the living room. An older man wearing a dark suit with several symbols and badges pinned to it had been talking with Aunt Cass. At Tadashi’s entrance, everyone turned to look at the college student, though a few eyes were more focused on Baymax’s presence.

"Sir," Tadashi greeted through clenched teeth as he walked up to the military man, "What’s going on here?"

"General Schneider. And it’s nothing of major concern, Mr. Hamada," the general responded in an easygoing tone, "Mr. Krei called about your _meeting_ with him this morning. He wanted to join us for this search, but he’s a bit too busy. We’re just here to make sure that nothing strange is going on.”

"Tadashi, what’s he talking about?" Aunt Cass whispered, "I thought you were with your friends earlier."

"I have some people over at their houses too," General Schneider stated, "Just as a precaution. We just want to perform some quick searches."

"There’s no way you can do this!" Tadashi shouted, "You can’t just come here and-"

"We just want to clarify something concerning that interesting paper you showed Mr. Krei, Mr. Hamada," the general interrupted, his tone cool despite the smile on his face.

The man nodded at the people in suits, who headed up the stairs. Tadashi scrambled up after General Schneider, Aunt Cass and Baymax right behind him. The twenty year old felt his heart stop when he saw the general and a few of those suit people head towards his room. As Aunt Cass focused on making sure no one made a mess in the living room/kitchen or aggravated Mochi, Tadashi raced upstairs.

The second he went through the door of the bedroom, a couple of the people in suits grabbed him and held on tight. General Schneider stood in the center of the bedroom, the other suit people searching the room.

"Get out of here," Tadashi growled, struggling against the arms that had him in a tight grip.

"Excuse me."

Tadashi turned and saw Baymax squeezing into the already crowded room.

"Your presence is detrimental to Tadashi’s emotional health," Baymax said to the general, "Please leave immediately. I can’t let you keep harming my patient."

"Remarkable technology you made there, kid," the general said approvingly.

Tadashi didn’t get a chance to state his biting remark, his attention diverted to the people who were entering his brother’s part of the room.

"Don’t!" he yelled, struggling against the people holding him, " _Don’t touch that_! That’s Hiro’s!”

The general gave him a look, a sympathetic one, before snapping his fingers, catching the attention of the others.

"Be gentle with that stuff," he ordered calmly, "If it has nothing to do with what we came for, put it back right where you found it."

General Schneider’s command did nothing to calm Tadashi’s nerves. It didn’t matter how gentle they were being, they were still touching Hiro’s stuff. They had no right to be there, to touch it, to look at it. No right!

As soon as Tadashi managed to break free of the two people who were holding him, the others were done with the room, telling General Schneider that they found nothing. The man frowned at that but nodded, the suit people exiting the room. Tadashi glared at each and every one of them, saving an especially vicious one for the general.

"That expression doesn’t seem to suit you, Mr. Hamada," General Schneider noted as he started down the stairs, "…A man stole your brother’s microbots, right? …I’ll keep that in mind."

The second the general and his people were out of sight, Tadashi immediately raced over to Hiro’s things. He adjusted the action figures on the shelves and smoothed the covers of the bed. He tried to ignore the trembling of his hands and his shuddering breaths.

"I apologize, Tadashi," Baymax’s voice came from behind him. A soft hand planted itself on his shoulder, "They didn’t listen to my request. I was unable to stop them from harming your emotional health."

Tadashi placed his hand shakily atop Baymax’s, closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths. Baymax’s hand started feeling warm and vibrated gently, the action surprisingly soothing to Tadashi. His heart rate was starting to slow down and his breaths were getting calmer by the second.

He heard his aunt downstairs, yelling angrily before a door slammed. A few seconds later, the sound of angry footsteps heading up the stairs filled the air.

"Can’t believe those people!" Aunt Cass cried, furious as she entered the room, "How dare they?! I don’t even know what any of this was about!”

Tadashi gently pushed Baymax’s hand off his shoulder, shooting the bot a grateful smile, before turning to face his aunt. Aunt Cass was fuming, ranting about how she was going to prepare some strongly worded letters and maybe find some numbers to call.

"I’m sorry," Tadashi muttered. Despite her ranting, Aunt Cass seemed to hear him, suddenly growing quiet, "I didn’t mean to cause you trouble, Aunt Cass."

Aunt Cass walked up to Tadashi, cupping his face in her hands, looking at him with concern.

"Honey, what’s going on?" she asked gently, "A-are you in trouble? Do you need some help or-?"

"It’s nothing," Tadashi interrupted, unwilling to meet Aunt Cass’ gaze.

"Don’t tell me it’s nothing," Aunt Cass let him go and took a step back, "That, whatever it was, was not nothing! You told me you were with your friends this morning!”

"I was."

"So what was that about seeing some Krei guy? What were you doing that someone from the military came here?”

"Tadashi had some questions for the suspect," Baymax stated.

“ _Baymax_!” Tadashi hissed.

"Suspect?" Aunt Cass repeated, staring back and forth between Tadashi and Baymax.

"Aunt Cass, it’s…" Tadashi’s voice trailed off. He saw the look on his aunt’s face, getting ready to deal with whatever lie he said next, "…I _am_ with my friends. And they’re helping me out with something important. It has to do with Mr. Krei, but I’m not trying to cause trouble. I swear I’m not.”

Aunt Cass stared at him for a few tense moments before pulling him in for a tight hug. Tadashi wrapped his arms around her, letting the warmth of the embrace calm him down even more than Baymax had.

"Tadashi," Aunt Cass whispered, "I don’t know what you’re hiding from me. I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong. But I won’t force anything out of you. I’ve always trusted you, honey. Just…Just promise me you won’t get hurt."

"…You got it, Aunt Cass."

How could he possibly be hurt even worse than he already had been?

~~~~~

The others called Tadashi a little later, informing him that their own houses had been searched as well. Those people had probably wanted to make sure Tadashi and his friends really didn’t have anything to do with whatever was behind that strange bird symbol. However, this just made Tadashi more suspicious of Krei. Just what was the story behind the symbol? Considering the military got involved, it must be huge.

Tadashi and the gang lost a couple days thanks to those searches. They didn’t want their families getting more worried than they already were, so they had to lay low. Tadashi used the time to start using Hiro’s notes to design and plan suits for his friends. Suits that could bring out the best in each of them and keep them safe. He made sure to add in his own changes and additions to what Hiro had put down, Baymax making sure he was properly fed and hydrated the whole while.

The fact that food no longer caused Tadashi to gag and feel sick was lost to him. The spark inside him was making him focused solely on the suits.

Well, and the tracker.

While Tadashi wanted to take down the masked man as soon as possible, he had high doubts that he and his friends really could beat him on their first try. In fact, Tadashi figured the man would most likely escape. So Tadashi decided that being able to plant a GPS device on him would be useful.

Of course, that meant fixing up that broken tracker that he’d shoved into the depths of his desk drawers. His hands shook so much he could barely hold the broken device. Tadashi brushed his fingers against the piece of cloth of Hiro’s hoodie, still tucked neatly into the frame of a picture of the boy, in order to give him courage.

He had to do this. For Hiro. For Professor Callaghan.

For his own health, as Baymax consistently reminded him.

~~~~~

"Special delivery!" Tadashi cried as he entered the garage, plopping down two giant tote bags, "Advanced grade polyethylene capsules, ready for use!"

Honey smiled briefly in acknowledgement before turning her attention back to her laptop. She typed in something before going over to the nearby desk, where she had set up a miniature version of the chemistry lab she worked with at SFIT. She adjusted the flame of the Bunsen burner and observed the blue solution in the beaker, stirring its contents around for a moment. She nodded, a smile on her face, as she turned off the flame and put some gloves on to remove the beaker, letting it cool on the desktop. She then immediately went back to her laptop.

"Are you really playing games right now?" Tadashi asked, looking over her shoulder to see her playing some game involving colors and numbers.

"It’s for memorization," Honey answered, "With the suit we’re making for me, my mind has to be in top shape, right? I may have memorized the periodic table but I need to do these games, or else my memory will get rusty."

Tadashi nodded at that before looking over at the beakers full of colorful solutions Honey had set up. Honey went next to him and grabbed a pipet, filling it with the minutest amount of a clear solution from a bottle.

"Watch this!" Honey was practically bouncing with excitement, "It’ll be great!"

She went over to the beaker she had just removed from the flame and added one drop of the solution from the pipet. Honey let out a giggle as Tadashi jumped back, blue foam shooting out of the beaker and piling up on the desk.

"Excellent!" Honey stated, taking out her phone and snapping photos of the result.

"…Wait, that’s not your usual phone," Tadashi noted.

"That’s because my old phone and purse are at the bottom of the ocean with Wasabi’s van."

Honey waved off the apologies that spewed out of Tadashi’s mouth. She stated while she was annoyed at the loss, she was alright with it. That her online store had earned her enough to buy a good replacement phone.

"And I always save all my pictures onto my laptop, so I didn’t lose anything too important," Honey typed away at her computer and pulled up some files, "I would’ve cried if I lost these forever."

Tadashi smiled as Honey scrolled through pictures of the gang taken over the years. Birthdays, competitions, inventing together…

He let out a breath when a picture featuring a kid with a familiar mop of hair came into view.

Hiro was curled up, fast asleep atop the garbage cans holding his microbots. He had dark circles under his eyes, yet he looked so peaceful.

"…He slept like that because of Mochi," Tadashi murmured fondly, "He and Mochi were practically attached at the hip when he was little. I always told him he must’ve been a cat in a past life."

Honey let out a chuckle at that, scrolling a little more to reveal several other photos of Hiro taken in the weeks leading up to the showcase. The last image was from the night of the event…The first and only picture of all of them.

"Tadashi," Honey began gently upon noticing how fixed Tadashi’s eyes were on the photos, "I’d be happy to send you a copy of these pictures. I-if you want, of course."

"…I’d appreciate that, Honey."

~~~~~

Tadashi couldn’t help but flinch as the disc Gogo launched flew past him, circling around before flying back to the bike it had been removed from.

"Mind giving me a little warning next time?" Tadashi chuckled nervously.

"Oh, woman up," Gogo replied, tossing one of the bike discs over to Tadashi.

"I think Hiro had the most fun with your invention," Tadashi said as he turned the disc this way and that before setting it down atop his work bench, "He had a ton of notes on it. Well, there’s a lot you can work with when it comes to electromagnetism."

"I’ll basically be playing Frisbee with these discs," Gogo stated.

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds silly," Tadashi chuckled, "By the way, wanna see what I’ve come up with concerning your suit?"

Tadashi took a seat and started to pull up some charts he had scanned into the computer. Gogo walked up behind him as he pulled up some of his 3D models of the suit he had designed for her.

"Nice," Gogo blew a bubble with her gum and popped it, "I think we can change it up a little, make it a little more aerodynamically designed. Probably build some smaller discs to attach here and here as well."

Tadashi nodded at the suggestions, typing up some notes on the matter as Gogo went back to her bike. It was silent for a couple more minutes.

"Gogo, can I ask a favor?"

Gogo merely looked at Tadashi expectantly.

"You remember how I freaked out during the car chase, right?" Tadashi asked, "Well…You think you can help me to not do that."

"What do you have in mind?" Gogo asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You drive my moped, I’ll be sitting right behind you. We head over to some empty area of town and you just drive like you did that night. And don’t stop, no matter how much I yell or cry."

"…You know, for a guy who built a medical robot, you’re pretty clueless about your own health. That’s a horrible way to try and get rid of your anxiety."

"I know but please, Gogo!" Tadashi begged, pulling off his pouty face, "I really need you to do this! I know it won’t cure me, but maybe I’ll get used to it if we do this. It’s important for what I’m planning for my suit and Baymax’s!"

"You’re way too old to be pulling off that face," Gogo scoffed before grinning slightly, "…Fine. You want a scare? You’ll get one, Tadashi."

~~~~~

"Plasma blades? _Plasma blades_?!”

"Don’t look at me like that, Wasabi," Tadashi laughed at the flabbergasted expression on his friend’s face, "It’ll be cool."

"Well, yeah, it sounds cool," Wasabi admitted, "It also sounds really dangerous!"

"You’re willingly going up against a guy who already tried to kill you once," Tadashi argued as he watched Wasabi set up a smaller version of his experiment from back at SFIT, "I don’t think plasma blades are what you should be drawing the line at."

Wasabi shook his head as he turned on the plasma beams. He calibrated the machine slightly before testing it out by dropping an apple, the fruit getting sliced cleanly in half.

"It’ll be nasty being on the wrong end of this," Wasabi sighed. A slightly panicked expression came across his face, "H-hey, man, we’re…We’re not gonna kill that masked guy, right?”

"We’re just capturing him," Tadashi replied firmly, his fists clenching tightly, "We’re not scum like him. We won’t be…"

Whether Wasabi heard the uncertainty in Tadashi’s voice or not, Tadashi didn’t know.

"Tadashi, are you sure about this?" Wasabi asked after a few moments, "Fighting this guy…You don’t have to do this, you know."

"We need to stop him, Wasabi," Tadashi focused on the wiring of the forearm gauntlets for Wasabi’s suit, "I can’t let him get away with what happened to Hiro and the professor."

"I know, it’s just…I’ve known you since you first came to SFIT. This anger you have isn’t you. I won’t say I understand what you’re feeling, cause I can’t, but I’m worried about you."

Tadashi stayed silent. He didn’t want to tell Wasabi that part of him was worried as well.

~~~~~

"Alright, Fred, I need you to start jumping."

Fred grabbed the edges of the legs of the suit tightly, an eager look on his face. He started hopping in place, the exoskeleton built into the legs sending him higher and higher into the air.

"This. Is. Awesome!" Fred shouted with each giant jump.

Of course, with that last yell, Fred let go of the suit legs and lifted his hands into the air…causing the suit to fall off and Fred to go plummeting down. Thankfully, the test had been conducted near Fred’s pool, which he landed in with a loud splash.

"I give that landing a six out of ten," Tadashi chuckled as he helped Fred out of the pool.

"Sorry, Tadashi," Fred said as they walked over to where the suit legs landed, "But that was so great! I get to be a real monster!"

"Super jumping skills, fire breathing, claws," Tadashi listed as he adjusted his hat, "I’ll throw in some fire resistance to make sure you don’t go and burn yourself."

"You’re the best, Tadashi!" Fred laughed gleefully as they headed inside so that Fred could dry off.

"Must be a dream come true, getting to be a real life superhero, huh, Fred?" Tadashi asked as Heathcliff provided Fred with a towel.

"…Yeah…"

"Well, don’t sound too excited," Tadashi said sarcastically as Fred started to dry off his hair.

"It’s not the superhero thing," Fred began, "It’s just…Something feels off about this."

"Off?" Tadashi repeated.

"There’s something in a story they call a red herring. You heard of it?"

The term was familiar to Tadashi, but he didn’t quite remember what it was about.

"It’s when you’re lead to believe something, only for the reveal to be something else," Fred explained simply, "Real common literary device. Barely ever run into a novel that doesn’t use it."

It was moments like this when Tadashi suddenly remembered that Fred was an English major before coming over to SFIT.

"…Is this about Krei?" Tadashi asked, "You’re the one who said he’s the prime suspect."

"I know," Fred stated, "I still say he is. But…When I think of everything’s that happened so far…I don’t know, man…"

"Something just feels off to me."

~~~~~

It was just over a week before everyone’s suits were done and ready for action. But the week hadn’t just been spent working on the suits. Every day, for a few hours, Gogo would take Tadashi out for those wild rides. And, as he had told her to do, she never stopped unless she felt he was getting too affected. The fear still remained, despite all the work, but the outings helped somewhat. Tadashi was able to concentrate better, only ever feeling a slight queasiness in his stomach, his heart beating a bit faster, and his breathing becoming just a bit quicker when dealing with the wild swerves and twists.

But the real question was if he’d still be okay when it came to what he had in mind with his own suit and Baymax’s.

The others were dressed in their own suits, having just finished practicing with Heathcliff for the day, when Tadashi showed up, wearing his own suit.

"Nice," Gogo smiled while Fred let out an approving whistle.

Hiro hadn’t made any notes that Tadashi could use for his own suit. Most likely because Tadashi was Mr. Killjoy in Hiro’s eyes. So Tadashi had to rely on his own imagination to create the outfit, and he did a pretty good job for a guy who wasn’t good with battle related robotics.

The suit was gold, black, and this greenish gray color. It was rather sleek and form fitting, except around his chest, shoulders, forearms, and shins. The golden helmet had a darkly tinted visor that masked his face and was retractable. On his shins were small thrusters and on the bottom of his feet, unseen, were small magnets. The shining quality of the suit was its exoskeleton, based off of Baymax’s, which boosts the strength behind Tadashi’s karate skills.

"Okay, Tadashi, let’s see you in action!" Fred exclaimed.

Heathcliff stood at the ready, wearing a makeshift kabuki mask. In front of Heathcliff was a tennis ball machine, the ruins of the first one off to the side in a smoldering heap. Fred activated the device as Tadashi got into his stance, clenching his fists tightly and spreading his feet apart.

The first tennis ball shot out at him. Tadashi struck it quickly with the back of his fist, causing the ball to fly to the side and slam into the wall, bursting on impact and creating a slight crack in the wall.

"Whoa," was all Wasabi could say.

Another ball launched out of the machine. Tadashi reacted quickly, turning to the side and jumping while kicking out, the tennis ball flying over the hedges. Everyone winced when they heard the distant sound of glass breaking and a car alarm going off.

As the balls were launched more rapidly, Tadashi used all the karate knowledge he had been taught over the years, punching and kicking and striking and blocking his way closer and closer to the tennis ball machine before he used his elbow and struck down hard atop it, causing the machine to sputter and smoke to pour out. Tadashi smirked with satisfaction as he went over to Heathcliff and plucked off the kabuki mask.

"That was amazing!" Honey cried as she applauded Tadashi.

"You haven’t seen anything yet," Tadashi chuckled as he retracted the visor. He let out a whistle, "Introducing the new and improved Baymax!"

The gang all let out gasps and whistles as Baymax came into view with his red and purple armor that not only made him look taller but far more intimidating than his old armor had.

After stopping Baymax from chasing after a butterfly and showing off his rocket powered arm, Tadashi climbed up on Baymax’s back, the magnets on the soles of his feet locking him in place.

It was time to see if all that practice with Gogo would work out.

"Alright, buddy, let’s fly!" Tadashi shouted.

Baymax released his wings and started the rockets. Though it became quickly clear that something was wrong.

"Oh no," Baymax said.

The nervous determination Tadashi felt turned into sheer terror when he quickly realized he should’ve done some testing with Baymax’s thrusters before doing this flight. The thrusters kicked into max power, sending the pair soaring up and away with very little control.

Tadashi screamed at the top of his lungs as the pair narrowly avoided slamming into signs and colliding with buildings. His heart was pounding and his breaths were coming in quick gasps, but it seemed all that time working with Gogo did help, as Tadashi’s mind still stayed focus on the situation at hand. Baymax was trying his hardest to get control, but he was having a difficult time of it.

"Alright, bud, I’ll jump off!" Tadashi shouted as the pair flew out of control over the bridge, "Maybe you’ll get better control without my weight!"

Taking a deep breath, Tadashi kicked off Baymax’s back, breaking the hold the magnets had. He fell for a few seconds before the thrusters of his own suit kicked in.

“ _Oh noooo_!” Tadashi screamed when his own thrusters suddenly kicked into max drive and sent him soaring upwards.

The thrusters suddenly shut off, causing Tadashi to start flailing as he fell. He had specifically designed the thrusters using bits of the technology Hiro had used for the microbots. The thrusters would only activate whenever the transmitter in Tadashi’s helmet allowed it to, but it would deactivate on its own after it exhausted the air supply that powers it for those brief moments. Though it seemed that the technology wasn’t quite up to speed just yet. For a brief moment, Tadashi couldn’t help but think this sort of thing probably wouldn’t happen to Hiro.

Tadashi managed to maneuver his body so that he landed on his feet atop one of the bridge’s massive suspenders. He tipped and swayed, his arms waving as he tried to find some sense of balance. Of course, just when he thought he was okay, the thrusters started up yet again, causing the twenty year old to fall off the side and plummet when they shut off once more.

Out of nowhere, Tadashi landed hard atop something metallic.

"Baymax!" he cried upon recognizing that it was the bot whose back he landed on, "Your rockets working alright, buddy?"

"I seem to have gotten them within control," Baymax answered as Tadashi repositioned himself so that the magnets locked him in place while Baymax flew up towards the top of one of the bridge’s towers, "Tadashi, I am sorry for any distress you felt in my absence."

"Distress?" Tadashi repeated with an awkwardly forced laugh, "Nah, I was totally fine, Baymax. Yeah, totally fine."

Baymax landed atop the tower, giving Tadashi a quick breather from the rather awful beginning of their test flight.

"The others must be worried," he sighed, "But I haven’t connected the communication devices yet, so it’s not like we can call them up."

Tadashi turned his head, gazing out at the ocean. The sun would probably be setting in another few hours. The sky was slowly starting to turn orange and pink. There a few small boats dotting the ocean. The sound of the waves and seagulls were clear, even with the noise of the traffic on the bridge below.

Peaceful.

"Tadashi," Baymax snapped Tadashi out of his trance, "I sense increased levels of dopamine and serotonin release in your system. I also detected brief periods of anandamide production."

"Even when I was falling?" Tadashi snarked.

"Yes."

"Oh. Well…That’s weird and promising, I suppose."

"We should continue the treatment," Baymax stated as he started to tip off the tower.

"Oh no," Tadashi groaned as the pair went falling down. As the water got closer, Tadashi took a breath, a wave of determination filling him, "Alright then, I might as well keep practicing too!"

Tadashi kicked himself off Baymax and started to fall parallel to Baymax. He twisted his body so that his feet pointed at the ocean and the thrusters activated, sending him flying upwards. Tadashi quickly maneuvered himself once more so that he was now flying out. As expected, the thrusters stopped and he fell once more. Seconds before reaching the water, he flipped himself so that his feet pointed downward, just as Baymax flew right beneath him. The magnets let Tadashi stick atop Baymax’s back as he practically surfed atop his bot.

A large grin started to form on Tadashi’s face as he reached down and gripped Baymax with his hands as the robot suddenly flew straight up and over the bridge. Spotting the tower below, Tadashi jumped down, landing on it with his hands. He pushed off the tower and went falling off the side before landing atop Baymax. Tadashi repeated the habit of jumping off Baymax’s back, occasionally activating his thrusters to perform a couple tricks, as the pair weaved through the suspension cables.

Not wanting to push their luck with the bridge, Tadashi and Baymax headed towards the city. As they flew over buildings, Tadashi occasionally leaped onto the rooftops, running across them and leaping off the side, Baymax appearing just in time to give Tadashi an extra boost to make it to the roof of another building.

As they flew and weaved and twisted around, the feelings of anxiety and the brief flashes of nightmares showed up, but Tadashi managed to push them aside, laughing and cheering. When they passed by one of the high rises, Tadashi glanced at his reflection as he rode atop Baymax.

Wide eyes, flushed face, a giant smile…He hadn’t felt so happy in weeks.

A brief memory of an escape from a bot fight a while ago came to Tadashi. Was this what Hiro felt that day? This exhilarating rush, the feeling of flying?

The pair continued their flight for a couple hours longer before taking a rest atop one of the giant balloons that constantly flew over San Fransokyo. The pair watched the sunset in a relaxed silence, Tadashi chuckling when he spotted Baymax clicking his feet together like he was.

"That was…" Tadashi started.

"Sick," Baymax finished. Upon noticing the look on Tadashi’s face, the robot added, "Hiro told me it was just an expression."

Tadashi narrowed his eyes slightly at that before deciding to let it go for the moment.

"Baymax," Tadashi said, grinning at the bot, "Thanks a lot, buddy. You’ve…You’ve really been a huge help these past couple weeks."

"You’re emotional and mental state seems to be getting closer to normal," Baymax responded, "While I would advise keeping me active for a little longer, if you wish to continue your treatment with human help, I can deactivate if you want."

"Wh-what?" Tadashi stuttered, feeling like his heart dropped, "Baymax, don’t talk like that! We still have work to do. We gotta find that masked guy, remember? And besides, you’re my friend. You don’t tell your friends to deactivate."

"Friends?" Baymax repeated, "Isn’t it better to have human friends than robot ones?"

"I _do_ have human friends,” Tadashi laughed, “Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, Fred. But there’s nothing wrong with having you as my friend too, you know. You’re stuck with me for life, okay?”

"I see," was all Baymax said in reply.

"Well, we should head back now. Gotta make sure the others know we didn’t get into an accident out here. I need to link up the communication devices, tweak up my thrusters, put the finishing touches on your sensors, and get that tracker of mine working."

~~~~~

Tadashi ended up working straight through the night, only knocking out at five in the morning the next day. After a couple hours of sleep, he went straight back to work, the only problem left being getting the tracker working again.

"And…done!" he exclaimed.

"That is what we’ll use to track the masked man?" Baymax asked as Tadashi set the now working tracker, which was slowly starting up, on his bed as he stretched.

"Yeah, I don’t expect the fight to go well," Tadashi explained, "Let me grab some of those old GPS chips of mine and then-"

 _BEEP_!

Tadashi froze in place. He turned to Baymax in confusion.

"D-did you beep?" he asked.

"It was the tracking device," Baymax answered, pointing at the bed.

Tadashi stared at the device and, as if in response to Baymax’s words, it beeped a couple more times. But that shouldn’t be happening. His heart pounding loudly, Tadashi went over to the device, his mind racing at what he saw.

A dot. There was a dot on the device’s screen. The location was indicated as being quite the distance away from the Lucky Cat Café. The dot would move every couple minutes and then come to a stop.

"But…" Tadashi gasped, "But that’s…That’s not…"

His voice couldn’t work right and his mind was all over the place. Because this didn’t make sense in the slightest. Because, at that moment, there was only one person in the world who the GPS tracker was supposed to be locked on.

And that was Hiro Hamada.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, THIS is the longest chapter to date! I really didn't want to end up splitting this chapter into two separate ones, so I just kept going until I got to this point. You guys may be wondering, "What the hell is this woman up to now?" Well, you're gonna have to wait and see, now won't you? That's the fun of me being the author and you guys being the readers~! By the way, if Tadashi's "stuck with me for life" line is familiar, may I direct you to the end of chapter 5?
> 
> Okay, so Tadashi's superhero suit is actually based off of this concept art from the film. Apparently at some point in production Tadashi was supposed to be alive and have his own superhero suit. While it's not an exact match, I based his outfit in the story heavily off of that concept art. If anyone wants to see the art, I reblogged a post of it on my Tumblr. Just look under the "bh6: twist of fate" tag and you'll find the post of it.
> 
> As to my reasoning behind why his thrusters are only temporary, first off, it's because of Tadashi's anxiety towards twisting and swerving and whatnot, that I mentioned a couple chapters back. While he can control much better thanks to his time with Gogo, it's still there and he's concerned that it can be too much for him to handle and he might freeze up. So, like Hiro, he's someone who needs to fight while teamed up with Baymax, although I can picture him in the future getting to the point where he can do it on his own, though he'll probably still team up with Baymax out of habit. Also, let me tell you I spent most of this chapter trying to get the whole flight scene right. It's hard when you're picturing it in your head like a movie but then the words just don't come out on the paper.
> 
> Another reason for his thrusters is due to research I did on the magical world of ionocraft~! Ionocraft technology is basically ion propelled technology, providing thrust in the air in the absence of combustion or moving parts. To explain the process simply, the system will contain a collector that is negatively charged, thus attracting positively charged ions. As the ions race towards the collector, air molecules will be pushed downwards as well. If enough ions move downward, so will enough air, and then you got thrust! Of course, I took some creative leeway with the technology in terms of using it for Tadashi's suit. Now some downsides with the tech is that there's a good chance of electrocution in all sorts of manners. That may or may not be foreshadowing. You'll have to wait and find out, won't you?
> 
> Also, in terms of karate, the backhanded strike Tadashi uses is called uraken uchi and the kick he uses is known as tobi geri or yoko tobi geri. YouTube is your friend in terms of seeing how the attack is done. As for the Baymax's diagnosis, Google is your other friend. But, simply put, those are known as the "happy chemicals" of the body for a reason. Hmm, I don't think there's much else to add. Well, I guess I'll see you poor souls who probably want my head on a pike in the next chapter, right?
> 
> Please keep reading and reviewing, please and thank you!


	11. Red Herring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Happy late holiday greetings from Willow! I am so sorry, you guys, I wanted so badly to be able to get a new chapter out by Christmas. And I really was planning that! But I kinda ended up in the hospital for Christmas Eve and Christmas. You see, on Monday I got pretty ill and on Tuesday I got worse, so I was admitted to the hospital on Christmas Eve and then I was only released yesterday morning. Yeah, I had something really bad going on. Nearly had my kidneys shut down too, like, wow…But here I am, back in action and here with the next part of this story!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't see the ownership deed to Big Hero 6 under my tree, so it looks like I still don't own Big Hero 6.

This didn’t make sense, not in the slightest.

Tadashi could feel his breathing quickening as he reached his trembling hands towards the GPS tracker. He picked up the device, but with how violently he was shaking he couldn’t look at the screen properly. The device slipped from his grasp and clattered to the floor, though it didn’t break.

"Tadashi?" Baymax called out.

Tadashi couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe. His legs couldn’t hold him up anymore. He collapsed onto his knees, eyes locked on the device, on that single moving dot on the screen.

This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t real. But that dot wouldn’t disappear, wouldn’t stop moving. He felt weak, dizzy. His hands were twitching and he couldn’t think straight for a second…He couldn’t take this. What was happening?

"Tadashi," Baymax called out once more, but Tadashi was in no proper state to respond, "Your breathing rate is much too fast and your blood carbon dioxide levels are plummeting. You are hyperventilating."

A slight squeaking noise filled the air as Baymax made his way over to where Tadashi was. The nurse bot gently took Tadashi’s hands, placing one on Tadashi’s stomach and the other on Tadashi’s chest.

"Breathe deeply through your nose," Baymax instructed calmly, "Keep your chest still, it’s only your stomach that should move."

Tadashi wanted to say something in response, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t breathe. All he could do was follow Baymax’s instructions, slowly and carefully. Baymax lead him through the rest of the procedure, Tadashi slowly getting his breathing back to normal and his senses together again.

"There, there," Baymax said soothingly, gently placing a hand atop Tadashi’s head, "I am here for you, Tadashi."

The young man looked up at Baymax for a brief moment before slowly looking back at the GPS tracker, at that single dot on the screen.

That dot…Hiro’s dot…His baby brother’s dot…

"… _Hiro_ …” he choked out, reaching out for the tracker once more, only for his will to falter and the hand to fall limply to the floor.

"Your CRF and TSH levels have skyrocketed, Tadashi," Baymax stated as he carefully assisted Tadashi to his feet. But Tadashi was still far too shaken to stand on his own, so the bot helped him to sit on his bed, "I’m also detecting even further increased activity of the amygdala of your brain."

"I’m…" Tadashi coughed, his throat dry, his words failing him, "I’m…I-I’m…"

He was _what_? Fine? Was that what he wanted to tell Baymax? Tadashi couldn’t figure out his own thoughts, his mind too lost, his eyes drifting to where the tracker was. Baymax took a step closer to where Tadashi sat. The twenty year old was a bit taken aback when those soft vinyl arms of his bot wrapped around him, pulling him in close. Tadashi couldn’t find the energy to return the embrace.

All he could do was close his eyes and will himself not to break, not now. Not now…

~~~~~

He had expected many things in response to what he had said. He had expected shock, anger, frustration. He had expected them to yell at him, call him “out of his mind”. He expected so many things.

But what he got was complete and utter silence.

It had taken two hours for Baymax to help calm Tadashi down enough that he could stand up again, enough so that Tadashi could properly hold the GPS tracker.

Tadashi double checked the tracker. He even took it apart and put it back together again, the process going much faster than when he had been repairing it before. But the results were still the same. Every time the device turned on, it would indicate a small moving dot.

He didn’t know how to respond to this information. What did it mean? No, he knew what it could mean. But why? How? Tadashi quickly realized that standing in his room and trying to figure things out himself wasn’t going to solve the situation. So he contacted his friends and everyone met up at Fred’s place. Heathcliff set out some coffee for the group and delicious smelling cookies, but no one touched the refreshments. Tadashi explained the situation to the others, only to get no response from them.

"…G-guys," Tadashi started, his voice still shaking slightly from the shock of earlier that morning, "C’mon, t-talk to me."

Tadashi watched as Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, and Fred all shared similar looks of concern with each other before glancing at Tadashi. Tadashi felt his hands start clenching into fists upon seeing those expressions. He had a good idea what thoughts were going through his friends’ minds at that moment.

"…You’re sure that tracker is working alright?" Wasabi asked after a few more moments of awkward silence, "You double checked and everything? All the wires are connected? Tried new batteries? How about-?"

"It’s not broken!" Tadashi shouted, the weight of the tracker in his cardigan’s pocket feeling especially heavy, "I fixed it and I know it’s working."

"M-maybe someone got those GPS chips!" Honey suggested, a nervous smile on her face, "Yeah, like…Those people from the military! They were in your room. Maybe they took some-"

"I was there too, Honey," Tadashi interrupted, "I watched them the whole time, they didn’t take anything."

"But those people in black suits looked real suspicious, dude!" Fred exclaimed, "Maybe they used some secret agent power to snatch some chi-"

Tadashi slammed a hand down atop the table hard, ripples appearing in the cups of coffee and the pile of cookies toppling over from the tremor. Fred and Honey both flinched at the action. Wasabi let out a wince before going over and starting to quietly clean the mess. Gogo looked tense, her eyes narrowing at Tadashi. Baymax, who had been quietly observing from the sidelines, went over and placed a gentle hand on Tadashi’s shoulder, the young man taking a deep breath before calming down, patting the bot’s hand as a thank you.

"The GPS chips I use are very small and sophisticated," Tadashi mumbled, not able to meet his friends’ eyes, "They’re pretty expensive, and I don’t have money to waste. So I only have a limited number of those chips. I checked, believe me, I did. All the ones in Hiro’s clothes at home are accounted for and so are all the unused ones."

With another deep breath, he finally looked up at the others, who were eyeing him warily.

"There’s only one chip that isn’t here," Tadashi continued on, wringing his hands, "That chip is in the hoodie Hiro was wearing the night of the fire."

A tense silence was in the air following that statement. Tadashi looked at his friends expectantly for a few brief seconds before a bitter smile formed on his face.

"If you guys think I’m an idiot, just say so," he muttered.

"No!" Honey cried, "No, we don’t think that!"

"I do," Gogo stated.

“Gogo!” Wasabi hissed.

"Not cool!" Fred added.

Gogo got to her feet, eyes locked on Tadashi, who was glaring right back at her.

"If being harsh will get it through to him, then I’ll be as much of a jerk as I need to be," Gogo said as she made her way over to Tadashi, "Tadashi, we all know what’s going through your mind right now. And I’m telling you, forget it."

"Not pulling any punches this time, are you, Gogo?" Tadashi asked irritably.

"Just answer me this: Do you really think Hiro’s still alive?"

Tadashi’s mouth became a thin line, his gaze becoming fixed on the floor. He remained completely and utterly quiet, even with Gogo’s foot tapping away impatiently.

"Tadashi," Fred called as he got up and went over to him, "Man, that fire…It was bad. You saw what happened to the exhibition hall. And everything inside was…well…”

Fred’s voice trailed off as Tadashi’s stomach clenched painfully, his eyes still pointed at the ground.

"There were a ton of reports about the fire," Wasabi stated as he joined them, "I heard all those experts discussing it. They all agreed that any living thing caught in there…wouldn’t have made it out…"

"And Hiro," Honey went on from there as she also came over, "…Hiro was such a small boy. A fire that intense, and that explosion afterwards…It would’ve been too much for him."

"…We never confirmed he was in there though," Tadashi whispered, "He said he had to go back to the hall, I didn’t see him after that. We didn’t find a body, remember?"

"We didn’t find a body for Professor Callaghan either," Gogo argued, "We found nothing for him, and for Hiro all we found were a couple scraps of clothing. It was an inferno, Tadashi. What part of that aren’t you getting?!”

“ _I UNDERSTAND, OKAY_?” Tadashi yelled, jumping to his feet and causing the others to take a few steps back to give him space.

Tadashi’s nails were really digging into his palms now and he was biting his lip hard to prevent himself from saying something he’d regret.

"I understand…" he stated in a softer voice, drawing in several shuddering breaths, "I know this is just stupid and delusional on my part. But…But there’s a chance.”

The others looked at him sympathetically. Tadashi couldn’t bear to see that sympathy. He closed his eyes, but all that did was make his mind conjure up images of Hiro.

"There’s a chance," Tadashi mumbled, "A small one, but it exists. I’m not asking you guys to believe me. Just…go with me on this. Okay?"

The awkward silence returned for a brief moment before Gogo broke it with the pop of her bubblegum.

"Fine," she stated in an aggravated tone, "You wanna be like this? I’ll go with you then."

"I’m going too!" Honey added determinedly, "If there’s even a chance…We have to take it…"

"This mess just gets weirder by the minute," Wasabi groaned, "But yeah, count me in too."

"And you can always count me in!" Fred exclaimed, "Fred’s Angels and the Speck of Mystery! Now that sounds like an adventure!"

Tadashi let out the slightest sigh of relief.

"Thanks, guys…Really…"

~~~~~

Tadashi left with Baymax to get prepared for the group’s mission to figure out the secret behind the dot on the tracker. Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, and Fred stayed behind at Fred’s home a little while longer, tension filling the air in Tadashi’s absence.

"Don’t tell me any of you guys are buying this?" Gogo asked the others.

"…Like Tadashi said, there’s always a chance," Wasabi replied. He shook his head, "…But I don’t see a good outcome for this."

"But what if it really is Hiro?" Honey questioned, "What if he truly did survive?"

"How?" Gogo retorted, "How could that little kid make it through that fire and the explosion? And the building collapsed too, don’t forget that!"

"And if he did survive, why hasn’t he tried to contact anyone?" Wasabi added, "Especially Tadashi. I may not have known the little man for that long, but it doesn’t take a genius to know he and Tadashi were super close."

"Maybe…He couldn’t?"

Gogo, Wasabi, and Honey all turned to stare at Fred in confusion. Fred was seated on the couch, arms crossed in front of him. He looked like he was in deep thought. On the table before him were several of his comics.

"What do you mean, Freddy?" Honey asked.

Fred picked up a couple of the comic books and went over to where the others were. He showed them the comics, all of them from different series but all having one common theme.

"All of these characters were kidnapped by the villain," Fred explained, "They were kept hostage in order to lure the heroes into a trap."

"So, you’re saying that the masked guy kidnapped Hiro and is trying to lure all of us into a trap?" Wasabi let out a sigh, "…When did my life turn into a comic?"

"But that doesn’t make sense either!" Honey said, "Tadashi only found out about the masked man by accident. He would’ve had no reason to kidnap Hiro in the beginning!"

"Unless he kidnapped Hiro for his knowledge about the microbots," Fred responded, "Who better to get him to create more than the creator himself?"

"Enough!" Gogo yelled, "Hiro. Is. _Dead_. We all know and accept that, right?”

The others looked away from Gogo at the question, the silent gesture giving her an answer.

"I thought so. The only one who hasn’t accepted that is Tadashi. Let’s not fuel that hope of his, alright?"

"But, Gogo, a little hope wouldn’t hurt anyone, would it?" Honey asked.

"Yeah, it shouldn’t," Gogo scoffed.

"But what kind of damage is this kind of hope gonna do for someone who’s grieving like Tadashi is?”

The question instantly sent a chill through everyone’s spines. What could they do now? Tadashi was far too stubborn about this. They would never be able to make him stop. If they refuse to go, then he’ll just choose to head off on his own. And, depending on what he finds, who knows what kind of state he’d be in?

"I have no clue what’s going on," Wasabi said after a moment, "But we still need to go with Tadashi. We’re his best friends. It’s our job to look out for him."

"And that’s what Hiro would want too," Honey agreed, "I’m sure he’s counting on us to look after his big brother. We can’t let him down."

"And we won’t," Gogo grabbed her stuff off the table, "Let’s go and get our suits. We’ve got some work to do."

The others nodded, Gogo and Wasabi heading out of the room. Honey made a move to follow them before noticing Fred standing still, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Fred, are you alright?" Honey asked.

Fred was uncharacteristically silent for a moment, the same confused look on his face. His mind seemed to be focused on something else, Fred not noticing Honey waving a hand in front of his eyes, trying to get his attention.

"Freddy!" Honey shouted, lightly slapping her friend’s cheek.

"Whoa, don’t scare me like that, Honey!" Fred shouted out in surprise, putting a hand over the slightly pink cheek, "You didn’t have to slap me."

"What’s on your mind?" Honey asked him.

Fred’s brow furrowed at that. Honey couldn’t help but feel worried. This definitely wasn’t like Fred at all.

"I’m just…worried," Fred answered, "Something’s been bugging me about all of this since we went to Krei Tech. And now, with this tracker and Hiro…"

"Something really is off here."

~~~~~

The midmorning rush at the Lucky Cat Café was always a bit too intense to handle alone. Even in the past, when Hiro and Tadashi would lend a helping hand if they were free, there just seemed to be too much to take care of.

But Aunt Cass had handled this kind of stuff alone before. After all, she had been running the café for a good ten years before her nephews became a permanent fixture in her life.

That being said, Aunt Cass still wished Tadashi could’ve stayed to help. At the very least, she could have used his company.

But perhaps that was a selfish thought to have. After three weeks of hiding away, Tadashi had finally started going out in the past couple weeks. After that incident with the military, Aunt Cass wasn’t sure just where he was going or what he was doing. But Tadashi had sworn that he wasn’t looking for trouble. And while it hurt that he was being secretive around her, she still trusted her boy.

However, as Aunt Cass moved to fill the order for seven dozen mixed donuts for Mr. Renaldo’s office party and start work on Ms. Joy’s medium no foam vanilla soy latte, she wondered if perhaps she should’ve been a little firmer in questioning Tadashi this time around.

Tadashi had left just an hour earlier with Baymax, giving some rushed explanation about going somewhere with his friends for the day. Aunt Cass, of course, had noticed the rather bulky bags the pair had left the café with. More importantly, Aunt Cass saw the expression on her nephew’s face.

A strange mix of desperation, pain, and hope. What could’ve possibly caused it?

"Marie, I am definitely nothing like you," Aunt Cass muttered to herself as she pretended to listen to Ms. Joy’s rant about how there was no way her drink was correct and that Aunt Cass should make it again, "You would’ve figured all this out a long time ago."

The ring of the phone rescued Aunt Cass from Ms. Joy’s rant. Aunt Cass answered the call while also working on remaking the drink, knowing Ms. Joy was glaring daggers at her.

"Hello, this is the Lucky Cat Café," Aunt Cass greeted the caller. A very formal voice answered, "…Y-yes, that would be me."

As the conversation on the phone went on, the cup with Ms. Joy’s remade drink slipped from Aunt Cass’ trembling hands.

The noise of the café died at the sound of a wail.

~~~~~

It was a slightly awkward arrangement. After suiting up, Tadashi and the girls hung out atop Baymax’s back while Baymax held Fred with one hand, Wasabi grabbing Baymax’s other arm in a death grip. They had been flying for a good two hours now, Tadashi giving Baymax directions based on what the tracker was showing him.

From the information the device was showing, it seemed as though the dot was located on one of a series of uninhabited islands way off the coast. As they kept flying, Tadashi noticed Honey and Gogo occasionally eyeing him, but he ignored the looks.

He was fine. He was perfectly fine. He just needed his answer, that was all. And then he’d be alright. He could move on and take on the masked man.

He just needed his answer first.

Baymax landed on a small island, the soft sand turning into a rather thick forest as one looked further inland. The others jumped off Baymax and looked around cautiously. Save for the sound of a few birds, the island was very quiet. Tadashi took one more look at the GPS tracker in his hand. The dot was still there, its location somewhere deep in the forest.

"Now what?" Wasabi asked.

"Baymax," Tadashi looked over his shoulder at the nurse bot, "You still have Hiro’s data from the last time you met, right? …S-scan the island…"

A soft whirring sound filled the air, the front of Baymax’s helmet turning bluish-green. Suddenly, a beeping filled the air and the screen disappeared.

"I apologize, Tadashi," Baymax said, "It appears that something on this island is disrupting my sensors."

"Dude, that’s not a good sign," Fred noted, "A mysterious abandoned island blocking sensors?"

"Forget it," Tadashi cut in before Fred could go off on a tangent, "We’ll just use the tracker, since it’s not being disrupted."

Without even checking to see if the others were following, Tadashi ran off into the island’s forest, letting the tracker lead him. He could hear his friends tripping and pushing aside branches and falling in mud behind him. Tadashi himself took a few falls when he was too concentrated on the device in his hand. But he just brushed himself off and kept going.

He was close. He had to be close. Then, this would all stop. He wouldn’t even have to go after the masked man, right? All he needed was to find him. Just find him and everything would be okay again.

This pain would stop. It had to.

"Tadashi, slow down!" Honey called out from somewhere behind him.

"Tadashi, please exercise caution," Baymax’s voice stated, "A forest environment such as this may be home to some poisonous species of snakes and spiders."

He brushed off their words, starting to break into a sprint. Two miles. The tracker said the dot was two miles away from him now.

His friends’ shouts were growing more distant by the minute. He started to gasp, sweat trickling down his face and his heart hammering away painfully in his chest. His chest was hurting, his lungs trying to keep up with the fast sprint. He could’ve slowed down, the dot wasn’t going anywhere.

But he needed to get to him. He needed to get to him and hold him and apologize for that night, for that stupid argument.

Tadashi let out a short shout when a root tripped him, sending him falling face first into a mud puddle. With his visor being up, he got a mouth full of dirt and water. He sputtered and coughed as he rose shakily to his feet. His legs ached and he gasped for air. But the dot on the tracker was blinking rapidly now, indicating he was close…Less than half a mile to go.

He couldn’t break yet.

"I’m almost…there," he panted, "Wait just…a little…longer!"

A quarter of a mile left…A thousand feet…Five hundred feet…Two hundred feet…One hundred…Zero.

"Hiro!" Tadashi screamed as he burst into a clearing of the forest, the location of the dot.

~~~~~

The others had lost Tadashi a couple miles ago, however he seemed to have been going straight, so they assumed they’d run into him eventually.

"And when we do, I’ll punch him," Gogo growled, swiping at the mosquitoes attacking her face.

Honey squealed in disgust when yet another spider landed on her arm. No one knew where Wasabi was storing all those sanitary wipes he offered everyone but none of them were complaining.

"C’mon, guys, it’s not so bad!" Fred tried his hardest to keep everyone’s mood up, "Hey, how about when everything’s done with, I invite you all onto my family’s private island? We can have a ton of fun there!"

"I think I spot Tadashi up ahead," Baymax stated, pointing towards a clearing just a few feet away.

The others ran towards the clearing, promptly freezing at the sight they saw.

Tadashi was on his knees and facing away from them, the tracker lying on the ground beside him. From where they stood, they could see he was shaking.

Exchanging anxious looks, everyone slowly approached the silent young man.

"Tadashi?" Wasabi spoke gently, "Hey, you okay?"

No response. The others got right behind him, finally seeing what his gaze was so focused on.

"…Is that…?" Honey whispered.

It was a raccoon. It was thin and sickly looking, tied by a rather sturdy yet thin rope to a nearby tree trunk. Also tied to the animal was a dark piece of cloth.

It looked like the hood of a jacket.

"Hiro was wearing a jacket that color, wasn’t he?" Gogo asked under her breath, "The night of the showcase…"

No one answered as Tadashi finally moved, his hands reaching towards the animal. With painful slowness, he removed the cloth and untied the rope, the raccoon slowly going back deep into the forest.

"Tadashi…" Fred whispered.

Tadashi was still silent, his shaking hands clutching the cloth. None of them could see his face from where they stood.

"Always the hood…" Tadashi’s voice was so soft, everyone had to strain to hear him, "I always sewed the GPS chips in the hoods."

"Looks like you were right, Fred," Gogo sighed, feeling angry over the whole situation, over the state Tadashi was in, "This _was_ a trap…”

"Masked guy wanted to distract us," Wasabi added grimly, "Try and buy some time for whatever he’s planning."

"Look," Honey said, pointing at one of the nearby trees.

Nestled in the leaves was a small black device emitting a green light. With a flick of her wrist, Gogo sent one of her discs at the device, the machine slicing in two and falling out of the tree.

"Baymax, how are your sensors now?" she asked.

Baymax performed a quick test scan of the area.

"My sensors appear to be fully functional now. It seems that machine was responsible for disrupting it earlier."

They had all been duped. It was a rather obvious trap, but it still got them.

A strange sci-fi tune filled the air, startling everyone but Tadashi, who remained motionless on the ground.

"Someone’s calling," Fred stated, pulling an arm out of the sleeve of his costume and searching his pockets.

"You brought your phone with you?" Gogo asked.

"Hey there," Fred answered upon finding his phone, "…Oh! Uhh, yeah, he’s with us! Oh, well, we’ve been having a ton of fun doing our science thing, he couldn’t answer the phone. Uh, sure…"

Fred stepped forward, towards Tadashi.

"Hey, dude, it’s your aunt. She really needs to talk to you," Fred held out the phone, but Tadashi remained as he was, as though he didn’t hear anything Fred said. Fred put the phone back to his ear, "Uhh, Tadashi’s hands are real messy right now, mind if I put it on speaker?"

Fred proceeded to do just that, everyone listening quietly as Aunt Cass spoke.

"Tadashi, sweetie," Aunt Cass’ voice was wavering but she sounded like she was trying to power through whatever she wanted to say, "I…I would’ve preferred telling you this personally but I don’t think…I don’t think it would be bad for your friends to hear this."

If Tadashi was even listening to what his aunt was saying, no one knew. Tadashi seemed solely focused on the cloth from Hiro’s hoodie in his hands.

"Well, um," Aunt Cass continued, taking a few shaky breaths, "D-do you remember what I told you a couple weeks ago, Tadashi? That…That SFIT was funding a more extensive search of the debris of the exhibition hall in hopes of finding…r-remains?"

Dread filled the air, the reality of what Aunt Cass was saying starting to crash down on all of them.

"You see, sweetie, they…they found a few remains. They were so tiny, they were missed in the original search. The biggest they found was part of a…part of a finger. They said it was due to being at or near the center of the explosion or something, I don’t know. And they did some testing and I got a call earlier…"

Aunt Cass seemed unable to stay strong much longer, the sobs coming through clear over the phone now.

"Oh, honey," Aunt Cass took in a deep breath to steady her voice just enough, "…It’s Hiro. They found Hiro, Tadashi…"

Fred let out a shout of surprise when the phone was slapped out of his hand, the force of the blow breaking it to pieces on the ground. Everyone looked at Tadashi, who was on his feet now, facing the others, the cloth clutched in one hand while the other hand was balled into a fist.

Honey couldn’t help but tear up at the look on Tadashi’s face. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, unusually shiny as well, his teeth clenched. He looked so much like a scared child at that moment…

Tadashi looked back down at the cloth in his hand. He out a gasp, and then another. Over and over, these terrifying gasps that sounded like he wanted to scream, to cry his heart out, but he was stopping himself. He turned and looked over at where the tracker lay. The other watched warily as he slowly picked it up.

"Tadashi!" Wasabi shouted in shock when the twenty year old flung the tracker at a nearby tree, the device shattering upon impact thanks to the added strength of the superhero suit Tadashi wore.

"Tadashi, your prefrontal cortex is indicating decreased function," Baymax noted as he stepped closer to his creator, "I’m also detecting increased release of catecholamines. Please, let me help you to-"

“ _DON’T_!” Tadashi screamed, backing away, “ _Just don’t_!”

"Tadashi, c’mon, let us help," Fred said worriedly.

"We’re your friends and we’re here for you," Honey added.

Tadashi pressed himself against the trunk of a tree, trembling violently as he pressed the hood from Hiro’s jacket to his face. He let out more of those painful gasps, those short wails that were trying to suppress so much.

"Tadashi, we’ll help you," Gogo said firmly, "All of us. We’ll make that masked man pay and…"

Gogo’s voice trailed off because Tadashi seemed to suddenly freeze. His trembling stopped and he became silent. His hands pulled the cloth away from his face, though his eyes were still locked on it. His expression…None of them could figure it out.

"Tadashi?" Wasabi called out, "Tadashi, can you hear us?"

Without a single word, Tadashi flung the cloth aside, the clothing landing in a mud puddle. The others didn’t know what to think about that. Tadashi had been holding that cloth like a lifeline but now he was just tossing it? The same Tadashi who couldn’t bear the idea of even one of his best friends touching something that belonged to Hiro? The young man marched over to Baymax, his expression still unclear to the others.

"Baymax, scan the area for that man."

Tadashi’s friends couldn’t help but flinch. That voice…It was too low, too cold…Too dead. That wasn’t their Tadashi’s voice.

"Scan complete," Baymax said, "The masked man is on another island approximately fifty miles due east. I believe we can make the journey in just under an hour."

"Then let’s move out," Tadashi stated emotionlessly.

"Tadashi, wait," Honey tried to get him to see reason, "I don’t think we should go after that guy now."

"I’m with Honey," Wasabi agreed, "Dude, you’re in absolutely no condition to-"

Tadashi spun around to glare at them. Every one of them, even the usually unflappable Gogo, took a couple unconscious steps back.

This wasn’t Tadashi Hamada. That cruel face, those dull eyes…This wasn’t their best friend.

“ _Move. **Out**_ ,” Tadashi snarled.

With a click, the visor of Tadashi’s helmet slid down, hiding his face from everyone’s view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! And here I was a bit worried this chapter would end up being unusually short. And so, here's your absolute confirmation, folks! The Hiro of this AU is dead, dead, DEAD! To all of those who were hoping otherwise, especially after last chapter, I am so sorry. But to be fair, I did state early on that this kind of AU was one of my favorites. I would never bring a character back to life after I decided this is the AU I'm going with. To be fair, I did really screw around with you poor folks about whether or not Hiro truly was alive or not. Though I'm not quite done with Hiro's death yet. There's a bit more pain involved, and whether that happens next chapter or the chapter after than remains to be seen.
> 
> I saw that pretty much half the review for the last chapter were not trusting me and the other half were believing that Hiro might be alive after all. To which I say, I'm surprised absolutely no one brought up how back in chapter 6 I had Aunt Cass mention that SFIT was doing a more extensive search of the debris for remains. I did say in an early chapter that while not everything was foreshadowing there are certain things I mention for a good reason. That line was one of those things. It was supposed to be your clue that there was going to be something up regarding remains and it was my tool for confirming Hiro's death.
> 
> And so now Tadashi is pretty much right at the breaking point. He just needs one more tiny push. Anyways, onto research. Google is your friend if you want more extensive info on this stuff. Anyways, Tadashi was indeed hyperventilating in the beginning. Did you know that apparently the whole paper bag thing is now actively discouraged? Good thing I looked that up because the original scene had Tadashi using a bag to calm down. The method Baymax uses to help him calm down is called belly breathing. I had Baymax describe the first half of the process. In regards to Baymax's diagnosis, I'll just give you brief names and whatnot. TSH I've mentioned before but CRF stands for corticotrophin-releasing factor. The amygdala and prefrontal cortex are both parts of the brain, increased function of the former being seen in depression and anger. Decreased function of the latter is seen as one loses control of their emotions. Like I said, you wanna know more, Google is your best choice.
> 
> Man, this chapter was hard to write but I think I'm satisfied! Please keep reading and reviewing, and thank you all!


	12. Falling Into Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy early New Year's Eve, folks! I decided, what better way to end 2014 than with one more soul crushing chapter of this absolutely horrendous fic of mine? I planned on saving this chapter for tomorrow, but I finished it early. By the way, you should've seen how many messages I got on my Tumblr account related to last chapter. Hell, a lot of you guys have left reviews last chapter stating just what you think of me. Ahh, the smell of my readers' unbridled hatred of me in morning~! How lovely~!
> 
> Oh, and I have to tell you guys, I am so damn happy right now! Three people made fanart based on this fic for me! That's right, three pieces of wonderful art based on THIS fic! I can die happy, this is so damn wonderful and amazing and I am on top of the world! It had always been a fond wish of mine for someone to like one of my main fics enough to draw art of it, and it happened! If you wanna see the art, it's under my "bh6: twist of fate" tag on my Tumblr account, couldbebetterforsure, which I have a link to on my profile.
> 
> Anyways, let's get this show on the road and see just how badly I can break poor Tadashi.
> 
> Disclaimer: If I owned Big Hero 6, let's be honest, it'd be like three hours of Hamada brothers.

Aunt Cass curled up into a ball on the couch in the living room. She closed up the café early, hurriedly filling the orders of those who were still inside. The customers, even the grumpy Ms. Joy, had insisted that their orders could be cancelled, that she didn’t look to be in any state to fill them.

But Aunt Cass did her job, all without uttering a word, before retreating upstairs.

She had accepted that Hiro was dead weeks ago. Sure, on the day of the fire, she had been in denial at first, before she was rushed to the hospital to see Tadashi lying in one of the beds. Hiro was her little boy, a little boy who she had hugged minutes before the fire. He was too young to die.

Then again, Marie and Tomeo had also died too young.

Aunt Cass let out a shaky breath, wrapping her arms around herself. That one phone call had managed to break down weeks of trying to be strong. Because Tadashi was suffering so much more, and she needed to be strong for him, to watch over him.

But she couldn’t keep it up anymore. Part of her mind thought that this was good, at least now they had something physical to lay to rest other than a few torn pieces of cloth. They could probably perform another funeral once the search of the debris was officially concluded.

The other part of her, the part that made the tears finally spill from her eyes, despised the fact that her little Hiro had been torn apart in that fire. Torn apart so horrifically that there was nothing bigger than a finger left to find.

Yet again, Aunt Cass couldn’t help but wonder what she did wrong as a parent, as a sister, as a sister-in-law, as a daughter. First her mother, then her father, her sister and brother-in-law, then Hiro. And now, she felt like Tadashi was slipping away from her as well.

"Meow?"

Aunt Cass lifted her head and smiled gently at the sight of Mochi, staring at her curiously. She sat up and took her beloved cat into her arms, holding Mochi close, the cat purring contently. She glanced over at the nearby wall, at the multitude of pictures of her and her nephews taken over the years.

Her eyes fixed on one particular picture of her boys. It was from their Children’s Day celebration, back when Tadashi was ten and Hiro was four. The boys were covered in paint, seated beneath the pair of koinobori they had worked a full week on to make themselves. The two were smiling broadly, a plate piled high with kashiwa-mochi between them. Aunt Cass let out a brief, watery chuckle as she remembered how right after she took that picture, the boys wolfed down the mochi in just a couple minutes.

"Mochi, I’m so scared," Aunt Cass whispered, "Tadashi…He didn’t say a word during that call. And we got cut off so suddenly. I don’t even know for sure what he’s up to right now and…"

Aunt Cass pressed her face against the top of Mochi’s head, the cat letting out a curious meow at the action.

"I don’t know what to do anymore," Aunt Cass let out a sniffle, "How do I help Tadashi?"

~~~~~

The ride through the air to the island where the masked man was located was a silent one. The tension was thick, no one saying a word to each other. Even Fred, who had been practicing superhero poses earlier, simply hung limply in Baymax’s grasp.

Gogo and Honey occasionally glanced over at Tadashi, who sat right between them on Baymax’s back. Tadashi looked straight ahead, unmoving. No one could tell what his expression was, the darkly tinted visor of his helmet shielding his face quite well.

His hands kept clenching and unclenching repeatedly. Gogo saw how his fingers twitched now and then. And, if one listened carefully enough, one could hear Tadashi taking several sharp intakes of air every few seconds, even above the rush of the air as they flew.

After the group climbed onto Baymax back on the previous island, no one could figure out what to say to Tadashi. What could they say? Their best friend just had it confirmed that his baby brother was truly dead.

Perhaps they should’ve done a better job of trying to break that hope that was building up in him. They should’ve been as harsh as possible with Tadashi, even if it made him mad at them. Even if he didn’t want to speak to them afterwards. They should have tried harder, then he wouldn’t have gotten so hopeful, only to break so badly.

But, perhaps, this break would have come no matter what they did. There was no point in thinking about what ifs, as it stood at the moment.

Everyone was just too anxious, too quiet…

~~~~~

Within a few minutes, their destination was within sight. Baymax slowly came in for a landing, everyone else jumping off of him and landing on shaky legs.

The island was smaller than the previous one, with fewer trees as well. It seemed closer to the mainland too, as everyone could make out the skyline of San Fransokyo out in the far distance. The biggest difference from the last island was the giant chain linked fence surrounding the area and the large metallic building in the center of the island.

A nearby sign stated that this place was called “Akuma Island”.

The group of six walked around carefully, in the direction of the mysterious building. It was obvious they were all on edge, the slightest snap of a twig or tweet of a bird making their hearts skip a beat.

"Uhh, guys," Wasabi looked around at the multitude of signs on the fence and on scattered barrels on the ground, "I see the word ‘quarantine’ on everything. You guys know what that means, right?"

"Quarantine," Baymax began, "The act of isolating people or a place in order to limit or prevent the spread of a disease or infection."

"Cool," Fred said, grinning as he looked around.

"Not cool!" Wasabi cried, "There are skulls on those signs! _Skulls_! Those mean death!”

"Quit whining," Tadashi snapped as he marched to the front of the building.

Wasabi paused, a hurt expression on his face as he followed Tadashi with his eyes. Honey went over and placed her hand gently on his arm.

"He didn’t mean it," she whispered, "He’s…He’s just not himself right now."

Gogo let out a small huff at Honey’s words before they all joined Tadashi in front of the building.

"It looks locked up tight for an abandoned place," Gogo noted as she blew a bubble with her gum.

"Who knows what kinds of weird secret experiments are going down on this island?" Fred looked both nervous and pumped up for what they’d find inside, "We gotta check it out!"

"Just be careful, guys," Honey glanced around nervously, "Who knows where that masked man could be?"

"He’s in there getting closer to completing his plan while we waste time chatting," Tadashi growled. He looked over at Wasabi, pointing his thumb at the front of the building, "Put those blades to work."

Wasabi frowned at Tadashi momentarily before doing as he said. The plasma blade easily pierced through the thick wall. However, Wasabi was not having the best of luck in cutting an opening, the blade being difficult to maneuver properly. Tadashi seemed impatient, pushing Wasabi out of the way. Tadashi took a few steps back and then ran at the wall, jumping up and kicking forward, making contact with the already weakened wall.

A giant hole formed, debris flying far down the hallway, crashing into objects unseen.

"That wasn’t being careful," Honey scolded, though Tadashi ignored her as he entered the building.

The others shared concerned looks before following Tadashi, Baymax bringing up the rear of the group. The inside of the building would have been pitch black if not for the giant hole in the wall and some thin neon blue lights lining the ceilings. Papers and dust covered the ground. The walls were bare, save for a couple of bulletin boards. Honey noted that the dates on some of the papers on the boards were from around two years earlier.

"Can you pinpoint the masked guy’s location, Baymax?" Wasabi asked.

Baymax took a moment to try and scan the building.

"I’m sorry," the bot replied, "There’s something in this building much like on the previous island that is interfering with my sensors. I can confirm that the masked man is inside this building, but I can’t direct you to his exact location."

"We’ll comb every inch of this place all day if we have to," Tadashi stated, his gaze still focused straight ahead.

As the group made their way through hall after hall, Fred started to sing some song about magical amulets and them being “Fred’s Angels” or whatnot.

"Fred, I swear, I’m gonna laser hand you in the face!" Wasabi warned, holding up one of his plasma blades threateningly.

"C’mon, Wasabi, I’m just trying to lighten up everyone’s mood," Fred responded with a nervous chuckle.

"How about you both shut up and take this seriously?" Tadashi hissed at the pair, "Now, c’mon."

Tadashi moved forward, as did the others, until they noticed Gogo was standing still.

"Gogo, aren’t you coming?" Honey asked.

"With _him_?” Gogo sneered at Tadashi, “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

"C’mon, Gogo, we promised we’d help Tadashi," Fred said.

"Exactly. We said we’d help _Tadashi_. I don’t know who this guy is, but he’s not the Tadashi I know.”

"We don’t have time for this," Tadashi stepped right in front of Gogo, "Are you coming or what, Gogo?"

"With the way you’re acting, forget it!" Gogo shoved him away, "You have no right to snap at us every other second! I know you’re angry, but you-"

"I don’t wanna hear it!" Tadashi shouted.

"I’m with her," Wasabi piped up, "Tadashi, we’re here to support you. But you gotta stop acting like this. We’re really worried about you…Listen, maybe being here is a bad idea, you’re in no state to-“

"You guys are wasting my time," Tadashi growled, banging his fist against the wall. A loud clang echoed through the hallway, "If you’re gonna whine like this, then I’m going ahead on my own!"

"Great!" Gogo retorted, "Then, the rest of us can go back to your aunt and tell her how she’s lost her other nephew!"

"You-"

"Guys?" Honey interrupted before the fighting reached a boiling point, "You gotta see this."

After Tadashi and Gogo shared one more furious glare with each other, the others went to the slightly ajar door Honey was standing by. She opened the door fully, revealing a medium sized room. Over on the other end of the room was a large desk of keyboards and buttons. The wall was practically covered in different small television screens.

"A security room," Honey noted.

"I wonder if this stuff still works," Fred gestured at the television screens.

Tadashi wordlessly walked over to the desk, carefully pressing a few buttons. Within seconds, the television screens all lit up, showing different camera angles of what seemed to be the same moment.

"Must be some old footage," Wasabi said as the video feeds showed multitudes of scientists and military personnel walking around.

"Awesome, we get to learn about the secret government experiment!" Fred cried excitedly.

"Seriously, Fred, I don’t think there’s a-"

Wasabi’s statement was cut off by the sudden sound of a man talking. Everyone stared in mild shock as Alistair Krei walked into the camera’s view, followed by several people in military uniform.

"Of course I’m wrong," Wasabi mumbled.

The group watched the screens as Krei explained his project, Silent Sparrow, and showed off his work. A pair of portals through which objects could almost instantaneously travel.

Teleportation…Or, at the very least, as close as anyone has gotten to creating it.

Everyone continued to watch in fascination and slight horror as a young woman, one who looked only a few years older than any of them, stepped into a pod and got ready to be the first human test subject of the portals.

Honey let out a gasp, the others wincing as the test went horribly wrong. One of the portals was destroyed, the other turning into a black hole that tried to suck in everything before Krei shut it down. The young woman who went in never did come back out.

Disgusted, Gogo quickly paused the video feeds.

"That machine Tadashi saw the masked man take out of the ocean," Honey murmured, "It was part of that surviving portal."

"The government shutting down a project of this size," Wasabi let out a whistle of awe, "Man, that could definitely get someone to want revenge…But, seriously, when did my life turn into a comic book?"

"So…Krei’s the masked man?" Fred was half confused, something not quite adding up, "It really was him?”

Honey, Wasabi, and Fred all jumped, Gogo only letting her eyes narrow slightly, when Tadashi bashed his fist against the desk, causing a sizable dent in it. His expression was still hidden from them thanks to the visor, but they could hear him breathing heavily.

"It has to be…" they heard him growl under his breath, "It’s him, I know it…But where-?”

"Tadashi, your cortisol levels have risen dramatically in the last five minutes," Baymax warned, "Maybe I-?"

What Baymax was about to suggest, none of them found out. Because, at that moment, a sound directly behind them caught their attention. They turned around just in time to see the masked man make the microbots lift up a large chunk of concrete and hurtle it at them.

It was after a few tense seconds of silence that everyone realized they hadn’t died. Baymax had managed to stop the concrete chunk from squashing the group. After a whispered order from Tadashi, Baymax charged up his rocket fist, which broke through the concrete, freeing the group.

They saw the masked man turn and notice them, behaving as though he was getting sick and tired of them. The man sent forward a sudden wave of microbots, which crashed into Baymax and sent him flying backwards.

"What’s the plan?" Wasabi asked.

Tadashi didn’t respond, didn’t even bother to check if Baymax was alright. He was watching the masked man, his fists shaking. With a shout of pure and utter fury, Tadashi raced towards the masked man.

"Wait, Tadashi!" Wasabi yelled, "Do you have a plan?"

"Get that mask," Gogo stated before skating off after Tadashi.

"Right behind you, Gogo!" Honey shouted determinedly.

"No, seriously, does anyone have an actual plan?" Wasabi asked in a near panic as Baymax, having finally gotten up, went off after the group.

"Time to kick some masked butt!" Fred cried gleefully, spewing some fire as he ran into the fray.

~~~~~

It was an utter disaster. They had all practiced how to use their suits and use their individual powers. But they never took the time to practice how to work as a team.

And the masked man was using that fact to his advantage.

Gogo, Tadashi, and Baymax were the only ones who were consistently getting close enough to the man. Wasabi had done well, only to be trapped by the swarm of microbots and tossed against the wall. Fred had taken a brutal hit to the stomach earlier and was collapsed on the ground, moaning in pain. Honey’s current condition was Gogo’s own fault, she just hadn’t seen the taller girl standing there. Thankfully, Honey’s helmet prevented any truly bad injury from occurring.

As Gogo skated around the large room, narrowly avoiding each wave of microbots the masked man launched at her, she would sometimes look at Tadashi.

He was a beast…Plain and simple. He kept letting out these furious yells and roars that Gogo had only ever heard in horror movies when the monster was chasing its prey. Every time he’d miss a strike, he’d collide with the wall or ground, leaving cracks and dents all over the place from the strength of his blows.

It was that fact that most worried Gogo. Tadashi was using too much strength. If any of those blows actually landed on the masked man, it would do far too much damage. Did he not realize it? Or…Or maybe he-?

Gogo’s worry over Tadashi distracted her a second too long. By the time she focused back on the masked man, he already struck her hard with an arm made of microbots. Gogo went flying, colliding with Honey along the way. The two of them rolled to a painful stop where Wasabi and Fred lay.

However, the attack on Gogo gave Tadashi a window of opportunity. Gogo watched as Tadashi, who had been riding on Baymax’s back, leapt off the bot and at the masked man. The man noticed him too late, Tadashi tackling him and the pair flying over a railing and down a nearby set of stairs, a loud clang sounding, indicating the pair had hit the ground.

"C-C’mon!" Gogo choked out painfully as she got to her feet, the microbots all collapsing to the ground around them, "We have to see what happened!"

The group slowly got to their feet and made their way over to the railing, looking down below.

The masked man was lying on his stomach. Just a couple feet away from him, slowly getting to his feet, was Tadashi. By his feet was the kabuki mask.

With a click, the visor of Tadashi’s helmet lifted up, revealing the blank expression on Tadashi’s face. The young man bent down and picked up the kabuki mask before looking over at the man sprawled out on the ground.

Gogo let out a sigh of relief, the others exchanging smiles and short chuckles. It was over. The battle was a disaster but they had accomplished what they came out for.

But, with Tadashi’s next words, everything went downhill.

"I thought so," Tadashi muttered as he watched the now unmasked man slowly get up, "Long time, no see…Professor."

~~~~~

It was no surprise to Tadashi. He simply felt empty. Cold and empty as the man he had been chasing for the past couple of weeks stood up and turned around, revealing his face.

The one and only Professor Robert Callaghan.

Tadashi could hear the gasps and shouts of surprise from his friends behind him, but he ignored it all. He was merely focused on the face of a man who wasn’t supposed to be alive.

"Tadashi…" Callaghan finally said after a solid minute of silence, "…You knew?"

"Not until that trap of yours," Tadashi replied, his voice dull and soft, "The GPS chips are small, so they can’t be found unless you really try to look for them in the clothing. Several people knew I used those chips, but only two knew where I sewed them. And that would be you and me.”

Callaghan let out a soft scoff before taking a step forward, holding out his hand.

"Give me that mask, Tadashi," he ordered firmly.

"…You were supposed to die that night," Tadashi took a few steps back, gripping the kabuki mask tightly, "Hiro did die. What happened to him? I want my answers.”

"Tadashi, I order you-"

“Give me my answers!” Tadashi yelled, holding the mask in both hands now, “Tell me what happened, or I’ll break it!”

Callaghan glared at Tadashi before letting out a growl. Coldly, he told Tadashi just what happened the night of the showcase…

~~~~~

_Nearly everyone was out of the exhibition hall. Only a few stragglers remained, and they were near the exits. It was at that moment the first explosion occurred, the ensuing fire quickly spreading from table to table, invention to invention. Screams filled the air as the flames grew tall and smoke filled the building._

_Callaghan was perfectly hidden amidst the chaos._

_He walked quickly to where Hiro Hamada’s display was, the neuro-cranial transmitter atop of a figure of a head, the trash cans of microbots surrounding the head. Callaghan carefully removed the transmitter, holding it in his hand, feeling the weight of it._

_Two years…After two years, he had it. A way to get his revenge. A way to finally get revenge for-_

_Callaghan flinched when he heard the sound of something falling, followed by a skidding noise. He watched as a small device skidded across the floor, disappearing somewhere under a few tables on the opposite end of the room._

_The device had looked like the tracker his student, Tadashi Hamada, used to keep an eye on his brother._

_“Geez, I **would** trip on nothing!” a young sounding voice wheezed._

_Annoyance bubbling up inside him, Callaghan turned and was confronted with just what he didn’t want to see._

_Fourteen year old Hiro Hamada was shakily rising to his feet, coughing and hacking away. The smoke wasn’t too thick yet, but the boy was very small, so perhaps it affected him worse. Hiro rubbed his eyes and peered around, eyes widening in surprise when he spotted Callaghan._

_“P-Professor Callaghan!” Hiro cried in shock, “What’re you still doing here? Let’s move! I don’t know about you, but burning to death is not the way I wanna go!”_

_“Hiro,” Callaghan took a single step forward, “Leave right now and don’t say a word of this to anyone.”_

_The boy looked at Callaghan’s hands, eyes widening in recognition._

_“That’s my transmitter,” Hiro muttered, staring at Callaghan in confusion. The boy placed a hand over one of the pockets of his jacket, “Why do you have it?”_

_“Hiro, do as I told you!” Callaghan growled, growing impatient. The second explosion was due in less than four minutes, he didn’t have time for this, “Get out and don’t tell anyone about this!”_

_Hiro flinched at Callaghan’s shout. He looked around the room before freezing. Callaghan knew the boy had suddenly figured it out._

_“You…You started this fire,” he whispered, taking a few steps back, “Wh-what’re you planning?”_

_Callaghan stayed silent as he watched Hiro, particularly his eyes. The teen’s eyes kept darting around, as if looking for an escape. Hiro had no intention of heeding Callaghan’s warning. And Callaghan could not have anyone stopping him, not from this._

_How unfortunate…But, for her, it was necessary…_

_Hiro quickly turned around and ran off, just as Callaghan put the transmitter on his head. It was just as the boy had described in his presentation: if he could think it, the microbots could do it. Callaghan stretched his arm out, the microbots breaking free from the trash cans and surging forward, forming a wall that blocked Hiro off._

_“I’m sorry,” Callaghan murmured as Hiro looked back at him in fear, “But if you won’t be quiet, I can’t let you leave.”_

_Hiro raced off towards a series of displays that have yet to catch fire, dodging flames and falling debris along the way. Callaghan had the microbots knock over one of the displays that had several hooks, the device landing near Hiro. The boy let out a cry, the sleeve of his jacket torn in several places. But he kept on running away. He was gasping and wheezing all the while, the smoke obviously getting to him. The boy looked absolutely exhausted, like he would drop at any second, but he kept darting around the room._

_Less than two minutes until the second explosion. Callaghan couldn’t keep chasing the boy like this. The microbots transformed into an arm and sped forward, catching the hood of Hiro’s jacket. Callaghan had the bots throw Hiro, the force of the action ripping the hood off the jacket as Hiro collided with a display and a nearby pillar crashed down._

_The microbots returned to Callaghan. He picked up the torn hood of the jacket, vaguely recalling Tadashi’s GPS chip. He went over to where Hiro had been thrown and frowned._

_Part of Hiro’s jacket was trapped under the display and fallen pillar. The boy was curled up on the ground, looking utterly dazed. He had probably hit his head hard. Hiro started coughing and wheezing violently._

_"…My apologies,” Callaghan whispered as he walked away from Hiro, the explosion set to go off near the boy in less than a minute now._

_Callaghan had the microbots link up and start to form a tight case around him, one that would definitely shield him from what was about to occur. Hiro’s gasps and painful wheezes managed to drown out the crashing of fallen displays and the crackle of the flames around them._

_“Ta-Tadashi…” Callaghan heard the boy choke out._

_Just before the microbots finished encasing Callaghan, he heard a crack and watched a beam break over where Hiro laid._

_In the weeks that followed, Callaghan kept the hood of Hiro’s jacket, though he couldn’t determine a reason as to why._

_He never did know for sure just what killed Hiro Hamada. The fire? The smoke? The broken beam? The explosion?_

_It didn’t matter…Callaghan had more important things on his mind._

~~~~~

"Now, give me that mask," Callaghan demanded as he finished the story.

"He didn’t need to die," Tadashi’s voice was barely audible, the mask clattering to the floor, slipping out of his now weak grasp, "You could have let him go…He didn’t have to die."

"Tadashi, I don’t have time for-"

“He was fourteen!” Tadashi screamed, his head pounding and heart racing. It hurt, it hurt so much, “He was just a child!”

~~~~~

_“You’re lying!”_

_“Mr. Hamada, please calm down!”_

_“Shut up, he’s not! He’s not dead!”_

_“Tadashi, please!”_

_“Hiro! He’s not dead! **HIRO**!”_

~~~~~

"You…" Tadashi was shaking, he was seething, "You were my idol. I trusted you! I always did."

It hurt…It hurt too much. He couldn’t breathe.

~~~~~

_“Professor, I hope you’re prepared for my brother. Hiro’s…a maverick, to put it lightly.”_

_“Don’t worry, Mr. Hamada. I’ll be more than happy to bring Hiro under my wing. The boy has plenty of potential. That is, if he shows me what he’s capable of at the showcase.”_

_“Don’t worry, sir, his presentation will be one you’ll never forget!”_

~~~~~

"You could have let him go!" Tadashi couldn’t breathe right, his chest hurt, his heart hurt. The pain was too much, it was overwhelming, "He died because of you! He didn’t need to-"

"Entering that building was his decision!” Callaghan snarled, “Whatever happened to him was his own fault!”

The world seemed to fade. His fault? Hiro’s fault? No…It was Callaghan’s fault. It was the showcase’s fault. It was the microbots’ fault.

It was Tadashi’s fault.

Everything else faded into the background. Callaghan was all Tadashi focused on. Callaghan was standing there. He was alive, he was breathing. He was still here. Hiro wasn’t.

…That wouldn’t do at all.

Tadashi turned and saw Baymax was standing directly behind him.

"Tadashi, my sensors indicate your adrenaline and catecholamine levels are-"

Baymax stopped speaking as Tadashi opened his access port, revealing the green chip with his name on it and the red chip with the frowning face.

"Tadashi," Baymax started to say as Tadashi wordlessly ripped out the green medical chip and tossed it aside, "Please listen, this is not what-"

Baymax’s voice was silenced as Tadashi slammed the port close with only the red fighting chip inside. Baymax’s eyes glowed red as Tadashi stepped to the side.

"Baymax," Tadashi pointed at Callaghan. His voice was dead, the pain becoming a dull throbbing, "…I want his head."

Callaghan stared at them in horror before running off, Baymax marching after him, the ground cracking and shaking in the robot’s wake. Tadashi could hear someone scream from behind him, but paid the person no mind. He cracked his neck and slowly went after the pair.

After all, he couldn’t let his bot do all the work.

~~~~~

"Tadashi, no!" Honey screamed as she saw Tadashi go after Baymax and Callaghan.

Gogo, Honey, Wasabi, Fred…The four of them were horrified and confused. Their professor, a favorite among the student body, had been alive this whole time? He started the fire? He let Hiro die with no remorse?

But now Tadashi and Baymax were after Callaghan. And they were gonna…They were…

"Wasabi!" Gogo shouted, "We’ll stop Baymax. Honey, Fred! Stop Tadashi!"

Gogo punched Wasabi’s arm to get him to focus, the pair jumping over the railing and going after the rogue bot. Honey and Fred looked at each other, terror obvious on their faces, before nodding and racing down the stairs and towards their best friend.

Fred took the initiative, jumping onto Tadashi and latching his arms around the raging young man.

"Tadashi, don’t do it!" Fred cried, "You’re not a killer, man!"

With an angry yell, Tadashi grabbed Fred and threw him hard onto the ground, Fred letting out a pained gasp. Honey raced forward and stood in front of Tadashi, pushing back against his chest.

"Tadashi, please!" Honey pushed back with all she had, but she was barely slowing him down, "He’s not worth it! Please, you can’t-"

Tadashi shoved Honey aside and proceeded to run off in the direction Baymax and Callaghan had gone in. Hurriedly, Honey helped Fred to his feet and the two raced off after Tadashi.

Meanwhile, Gogo and Wasabi were doing their best to stop the rampaging Baymax. Wasabi was pushing against Baymax with all his might, Gogo skating around and occasionally launching her discs at the bot’s head to stun him and make him lose focus on Callaghan.

As Wasabi tried desperately to slow Baymax’s progress, his sides aching from when the bot shoved him earlier, he saw a terrible sight out of the corner of his eye. Tadashi had made his way over to Callaghan, the young man slamming his fist against a nearby pillar, causing it to crack, pieces of it breaking off.

"Gogo!" Wasabi shouted.

Gogo saw what was happening and, with a silent apology to her friend, launched a disc at him, which slammed against the side of his helmet, causing Tadashi to stumble.

"Now, Freddy!" Honey cried as she launched a few of her chemical balls at another pillar behind Tadashi, coating it in blue foam.

With a yell, Fred raced forward and shoved the dazed Tadashi right into the blue foam. Honey then threw a few more of her chemical balls at him, more of the foam coating Tadashi, sticking him in place.

The momentarily relief over having stopped Tadashi turned to fear as Baymax aimed his fist upwards. While they were distracted, Callaghan retrieved the kabuki mask and was starting to leave with the aid of the microbots. Gogo, Wasabi, and Fred all tried to stop the bot, Honey racing towards the green microchip on the ground and then running at Baymax.

Gasping in fear, she opened Baymax’s access port and slammed the green chip inside, closing her eyes momentarily in terror.

The whirring of the charging of Baymax’s rocket fist died down. Everyone backed away as Baymax’s eyes returned to their normal black color, the bot gazing down at them carefully.

"My healthcare protocol has been violated," Baymax noted, "I am sorry for any distress and injury I caused you."

Honey let out a sob of relief as Baymax helped a fallen Fred to his feet. The group turned their attention to Tadashi, who broke free of the foam, the compound fizzing away as he stared up at the hole Callaghan had escaped through.

"He’s gone," he whispered, his voice sounding as broken as it had the night of the showcase, "He’s…gone…"

Tadashi stared at them all with a wild look, advancing on them furiously.

“You let him escape!” he yelled furiously.

"Don’t you _dare_ yell at us!” Gogo screamed, “What were you thinking?!”

"You promised me, Tadashi!" Wasabi added, "What you just did, I never signed up for!”

"I almost had him," Tadashi’s breaths were coming out in gasps, his hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly, "I could’ve stopped him…He’s a murderer. He’s a murderer!"

"But _you’re_ not!” Honey argued, “None of us are!”

"T-Tadashi," Fred was shaking as he held out a hand warily towards Tadashi, "Dude, th-this wasn’t part of the plan."

Tadashi glared at them all, a look that sent chills down their spines.

"Baymax, scan!" Tadashi shouted, "Where’d he go?"

"I apologize, but my sensors seemed damaged," Baymax stated.

Tadashi let out a growl at that before ordering Baymax to activate his wings. Tadashi climbed onto Baymax’s back, his eyes still bloodshot and wild, his teeth clenched.

"Tadashi, wait a minute!" Gogo yelled.

"I should’ve known you guys would hold me back," Tadashi hissed at them, "Baymax…Fly!"

The gang yelled worriedly as Baymax and Tadashi flew out through the hole in the ceiling. They exchanged concerned glances.

How were they supposed to help Tadashi now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done! Phew, I was concerned about this chapter the most because this was the chapter that basically signaled rock bottom for Tadashi. He's at his lowest point in the story right now. But that means things can only go up from here, right? Don't worry, 2015 is not only a new year. It'll also signify the healing for poor Tadashi. I really put him through so much, the poor guy. And man, a pissed Tadashi is a scary one, as I showed you.
> 
> So, what DID kill Hiro? The fire, smoke, beam, or explosion? You guys can decide that for yourselves! Originally, I planned it so that it was confirmed the falling beam did it. It was a reference to the novelization of the movie, which heavily implies that Tadashi died because a beam broke and fell on him. But then I decided to just leave it like it is in the story and you guys can decide which caused Hiro's death. Okay, so let's see if everything's accounted for that I mentioned earlier. The tracker found in the rubble? It had skidded to a relatively safe spot when Hiro fell. The bits of cloth that were found from Hiro's hoodie? Taken from that display that tore his sleeve. The cloth with the pocket containing the microbot? That was the part of his jacket that was trapped under the display and pillar. And the hood of his jacket? Callaghan had it in his possession and used it for his trap to distract the group.
> 
> Okay, fun fact time! So, Callaghan's the masked guy, just like in the movie. However, up until chapter four, I actually had two other routes I was contemplating going down. One of the alternate routes was that Krei actually WAS gonna be the masked man in this story. It wouldn't have been that hard to pull off and that definitely would've thrown you guys for a loop, huh? But I grew bored of that route. The other route was, and don't laugh now, that the masked man was gonna be…Abigail. Hell yeah, I was REALLY gonna shock you guys. I actually was rather attached to that option and did in fact plan it out. However, that storyline grew way too complex and became far too much, so I dropped it and stuck with my original route, as you see here.
> 
> Okay, research notes time! First off, the Children's Day celebration. Since San Fransokyo has a lot of Japanese cultural influence, I would assume that the city celebrates traditional Japanese holidays and festivals. For this story's canon, Hiro and Tadashi's Japanese father wanted to make sure his sons were well integrated with the Japanese half of their heritage, so he had the boys participate in plenty of festivals and traditions. After Hiro and Tadashi's parents died, Aunt Cass wanted to continue honoring her brother-in-law's wishes. So she did a ton of research and kept in contact with Tomeo's side of the family so that she could be with the boys and help them participate in events related to the Japanese half of their heritage. It's kind of awkward for Aunt Cass, since she feels like she shouldn't be doing this as a white woman, but the boys are more than happy to have her get involved. As it is, Tadashi is the one more "involved" with the Japanese half of his culture. Hiro is involved too, but to a lesser degree than his brother.
> 
> Anyways, as I was saying before, Children's Day is held on May 5th and is a part of Golden Week celebrations. The day is used to celebrate children's personalities and happiness. It was originally just for boys, the girls having another holiday, but it was changed in 1948 to be for boys and girls. One of the traditions is to fly koinobori banners, or flags that are shaped like carp. A family flies one per child in the family. Kashiwa-mochi are mochi filled with red bean jam and wrapped in oak leaves (Kashiwa) and are a typical treat for kids on the day.
> 
> Moving on, "Akuma Island" is the actual name for that island in canon, I didn't make it up. The move that Tadashi used in order to break down the door is known as a mae tobi geri. And, as for Baymax's diagnosis, you guys probably know about adrenaline. Catecholamines are something I mentioned in the last chapter but forgot to talk about in the notes. Simply put, they are neurotransmitters in the body that give you bursts of energy that can last for several minutes, commonly used to fuel the immediate actions taken when one is angry.
> 
> Alright, so next chapter should be out sometime next year (haha, funny joke). Anyways, please be patient because I actually have something important to do, so it might take a little longer for the next chapter. Maybe, we'll see.
> 
> Please keep reading and reviewing. Thanks!


	13. My Idol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 2015, folks! You know what this means right? Yup, it's a new year, so that means Tadashi's healing can truly kick in now! I'm done putting the guy through such agonizing levels of pain like this. Well, there's still a bit more pain left but that one will be taken care of quickly enough.
> 
> Fun fact, folks! There are only two more chapters after this one! Wow, so I was right in my guessing that this fic would most likely end up with around fifteen chapters. Man, it's really odd to think about how this fic is gonna be over soon. Because it has become such a massive part of my life over the past few weeks. This is just like how I felt back after I finished A Different Way Of Life. When you spend so much time on a fic, especially a good couple months, it becomes such a massive part of you. And the idea of that fic ending just feels so bizarre. And I feel especially attached with this fic because of all the love and support I've gotten over it, both here and on FFN and especially on Tumblr. Thank you all!
> 
> Oh, by the way, one of my favorite Big Hero 6 artists on Tumblr drew fanart from the last chapter! You have no idea how happy I am about that! Hell, I'm happy about the six pieces of fanart I've seen so far related to this story! It makes me really glad to see people take the time to make stuff like this because they enjoyed my fic that much.
> 
> Okay, enough of this for now, let's dive into the healing! Which is preceded by a bit more pain.
> 
> Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is not mine, and if it was I would DEFINITELY have a giant angry mob after me by this point.

Waiting…That was all they could do at the moment.

With Tadashi and Baymax gone, the others didn’t have a way off Akuma Island. Thankfully, Fred had brought a spare cellphone with him. Something about his mother making him carry two since he tends to have a bad habit of losing or breaking one. Fred called up Heathcliff, who said he’d be there to pick them up in the family helicopter soon enough.

Until the butler arrived, the group of four stood about in a painfully awkward silence. Fred was poking at the claws of his suit. Honey played around with the strap of her battle purse. Wasabi would take small pieces of concrete and throw them at the nearby wall. Gogo was seated on the nearby stairs, glaring at the ground.

"W-where do you think Tadashi and Baymax went?" Wasabi asked, finally breaking the silence.

"They probably went to fix Baymax’s sensors," Honey answered. She let out a sigh, "Tadashi…He…He wouldn’t actually kill the professor…Would he?”

"Didn’t you see him?" Gogo growled in response, "If not him, Baymax would’ve done it."

"…He scared me," Fred muttered, "Never thought that Tadashi Hamada, of all people, would actually be able to scare me."

"That wasn’t our Tadashi," Honey murmured, "Our Tadashi is gentle and kind. That Tadashi was…I don’t even know! I don’t understand what’s going on anymore!"

Wasabi let out a sigh.

"You know," he began softly, "…I can’t even bring myself to blame him. I didn’t want Tadashi to kill anyone or have Baymax do it either. But, if I was in his shoes…I don’t know. I can’t agree with what he did but I can’t really blame him for wanting to either."

"But it’s a good thing he didn’t," Gogo stated firmly, "Callaghan’s not worth it. Not for a second."

The mention of the professor’s name made the others wince.

"To think it was Callaghan the whole time," Fred muttered, "Man, I was waiting for a red herring, but not like this."

"But why?" Honey asked, looking at the others desperately, "Why would he do something like this?"

"The Callaghan I knew was a good man," Wasabi muttered, "He’d encourage us to think outside the box, beyond our limits. He’d stay late if we were having trouble and he always gave us advice. This Callaghan…I don’t even recognize him."

"It doesn’t matter!" Gogo snapped at the others, "I don’t care how great of a guy he was or what his reason is. A fourteen year old kid is dead and our best friend almost became a murderer because of him!"

"But now we have a problem, Gogo," Wasabi argued, his brow furrowing as he thought about their current situation, "As long as the masked man was Krei, all of this made some measure of sense. The government shut down Krei’s big project, so Krei stole the microbots in order to retrieve that portal and get his revenge."

"But the masked man is Callaghan," Honey took over from there, "This was obviously a top secret project, so why does Callaghan know about it? How is he involved? What does he want to do?"

Gogo couldn’t respond to any of that, being just as in the dark about the matter as the others. It honestly didn’t make any sense. What was the missing link that could connect Callaghan to all of this?

After several moments of silence, Fred stood up and started to head towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Gogo asked as she scooted aside to let him head up.

"That room with the videos," Fred answered, "I bet we can get some answers out of those."

"Seriously?" Wasabi looked doubtful, "We already saw what happened. The experiment went wrong and that woman died."

"You’re thinking too logical!" Fred exclaimed, a smile on his face, "Think like me for a second! Like a comic book nerd!"

"Just what I wanna do," Gogo snarked under her breath.

"Honey, you read manga, right?" Fred looked over at the tall girl expectantly, "You get it, don’t you?"

"…You think there’s more to the footage, right?" Honey asked after a moment.

"Bingo! Typical plot device in mystery stories! The heroes think they saw everything they needed to in the video, only for them to have missed the most important part."

Gogo, Honey, and Wasabi all exchanged looks before getting up and following Fred towards the security footage room. The four of them worked together to push aside and break the debris that was blocking the television screens.

"You think it still works?" Gogo wondered, observing the cracks and dents on the control panel and some of the screens.

Honey stepped forward and pressed a few buttons, all but a couple of the screens suddenly lighting up. The audio was distorted but the images were clear enough. The gang watched the footage carefully as it played from the beginning. They watched the same explanation from Krei, the same demonstration of the portals, the same woman who stepped into her pod and headed into the portal.

And the same disaster that spelled the woman’s doom.

"Alright, there should be something," Fred said as they let the video continue playing past where they had watched it before.

For the next couple minutes, it was just footage of the scientists in shock and Krei being told by those military people that the project was terminated and the portals were to be dismantled. The gang started to lose hope as the footage kept going…Until…

Honey let out a gasp when the one and only Professor Robert Callaghan suddenly ran into the room Krei and those military people were in. The group watched as a couple people were holding an absolutely furious Callaghan back from getting to Krei, Callaghan yelling at the CEO with more rage than any of them had ever heard from the man. Suddenly, the video footage cut off.

"Fred?" Gogo groaned.

"Yeah, Gogo?" Fred replied.

"Did I ever tell you how much I hate it when you’re right?"

"So, he was there…” Wasabi said in surprise, “He was involved somehow…I guess it makes sense since he’s a top roboticist. But he seemed way too angry for this to just be about a failed experiment…”

The others were prevented from discussing the situation further by the sound of a helicopter flying overhead. It seemed that Heathcliff had arrived at last.

"We can figure things out after we make sure Tadashi’s okay," Gogo stated, "Honey, can you download a copy of the video?"

"On it!" Honey said as she pulled a small jump drive out of a side pocket on her purse.

Callaghan was now linked with Project Silent Sparrow, but they were still missing that final piece of the puzzle that could explain everything. Honey finished the download and the group made their way outside. The helicopter was over them, Heathcliff dropping down a rope ladder for them to climb up on.

"Hey, I know we’re in a hurry," Honey started, "But do you think we can make a quick side trip before going to check on Tadashi?"

~~~~~

Tadashi threw open the garage door, quickly marching into the lab as Baymax slowly followed him. Tadashi took his helmet off and set it down with a loud bang on the table, the action causing a few nearby stacks of papers and books to topple over and spill onto the ground.

It didn’t matter. He couldn’t waste any more time. Every second he was in here, Callaghan was slipping farther away.

Tadashi let out a hiss, his chest in pain at the thought of the professor. His heart clenched and his head pounded as he pulled Baymax’s helmet off. He pulled open the drawers of his desk, sometimes using too much strength and pulling out the drawers entirely, before he found the tools he needed and got to work repairing the sensors.

"Tadashi, I am very concerned," Baymax said as the bot watched the young man work.

"Not now, Baymax," Tadashi growled as he opened a panel in the helmet and pulled at the wires.

"You are releasing incredibly high levels of cortisol and adrenaline," Baymax went on regardless of Tadashi’s words, "Your blood pressure has also elevated over the past couple hours. This constant state of stress can further damage your mental state and may even-"

“ _Shut up, Baymax_!” Tadashi ordered as he put the helmet back together. He went over to the bot and placed the helmet back on, “Are the sensors working now?”

"…My sensors are back online," Baymax responded after testing them for a second.

Good. It was progress. Tadashi took a minute to try and breathe, but it wasn’t working. His heart was racing and no matter how many gulps of air he took in, he couldn’t breathe. His chest felt tight, his throat felt constricted.

But he couldn’t care less. Callaghan, he needed to focus on Callaghan. His baby brother’s murderer. He needed to bring an end to the monster who ruined everything.

Tadashi glared at Baymax’s chest, particularly his access port. Honey had replaced the medical chip. A stupid action, how was that gonna help against Callaghan? Tadashi pressed the access port roughly in order to take out that hindrance of a chip.

But it didn’t open.

"What’s wrong?" Tadashi asked as he repeatedly pressed the port to no avail, "Baymax, you didn’t tell me your access port was damaged too."

"It isn’t," Baymax replied simply.

Tadashi narrowed his eyes before pulling off the chest panel of the bot’s armor, the panel clanging loudly as it fell to the ground. Tadashi kept pressing and pulling at the access port, which remained firmly locked.

"Baymax, open your access port," Tadashi demanded, the pounding in his head, in his veins, growing with each passing second.

"I cannot do that with your current emotional state," Baymax responded.

"Cannot?" Tadashi repeated angrily. His head was hurting badly now but he kept pulling at the access port, "Baymax, do as I say! I made you and I can-"

"Tadashi, your emotional state has deteriorated in the past few hours," Baymax interrupted. That soothing tone had never annoyed Tadashi until that very moment, "It would be unsafe to allow you access to my programming, both for the sake of others and also for your own health."

“Forget my health!” Tadashi yelled, kicking his desk, causing a deep dent to form in it, “ _My_ health means nothing right now! We need to get Callaghan!”

"Your health is my prime concern," Baymax stated, "You are my patient, and I must make sure you are-"

"Shut up, already!"

"You want to remove my medical chip," Baymax didn’t seem to care as Tadashi’s rage was building with each passing second, "You built me for healing those who need help, those who are scared. Leaving me with just the fighting chip would defeat my purpose."

"I know what I built you for," Tadashi snarled, jabbing at the access port, "But you have a new purpose now! We’re gonna go and find that monster and then we’ll-"

"Do you want me to terminate Professor Callaghan?"

The hand that had been aggressively clawing at Baymax’s access port fell limply to Tadashi’s side. He stared up at Baymax with wide eyes as he took a couple steps back.

"Do you wish to terminate Professor Callaghan yourself?" Baymax asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Tadashi, awaiting an answer.

The pounding dulled into a throbbing, an incessant throbbing. His stomach was in knots and his heart was still hammering in his chest.

"That’s…" Tadashi’s voice cracked. He slapped his cheeks to get his head straight again, scowling at Baymax, "Don’t you try to pull this on me. We’re doing this my way, Baymax."

"Will terminating Professor Callaghan improve your emotional state?" Baymax asked calmly.

"I don’t wanna hear it!" Tadashi exclaimed, turning around and grabbing the edge of his desk to brace himself, his breathing rate increasing.

"Will you be satisfied if we go through what you want?"

"Baymax…" Tadashi growled threateningly, his body shaking, "I swear, if you don’t shut up-"

"Is this what Hiro would have wanted?"

Tadashi’s heart dropped at his brother’s name. He spun around and glared at Baymax, his teeth clenched and his hands balled up into fists. The pounding in his head returned in full force.

"Don’t you _dare_ …” he warned.

"Hiro would not have wanted to see you like this," it was almost as though Baymax was purposefully antagonizing Tadashi at this point, "He saw you as a role model."

"Role model?" Tadashi let out a bitter laugh, "The guy who ruins everything? I decide to be a whiny brat to my parents, they die. I do something behind Hiro’s back, he dies! Hiro would still be here if I didn’t push him towards SFIT!"

"Hiro is still here," Baymax assured Tadashi.

He couldn’t take it anymore.

“ _ **WHERE**_?!” he demanded, “You keep telling me that over and over. Where do you see Hiro?”

He gestured at the lab wildly, at the computers and equipment and books and gadgets. Stuff that belonged to Tadashi…Stuff that belonged to Hiro.

"In this stuff? Is that where he is?!” his eyes were stinging and his chest was hurting. Tadashi furiously swiped at the computer and books that were on his desk, the objects crashing to the floor loudly, “Or in my memories, do you mean that?!”

Tadashi fingers dug into his hair, yanking at the strands and threatening to tear them out violently. It hurt so much. Everything was hurting.

"Hiro’s dead!" he yelled, staring at Baymax, who returned the gaze with that unchanging expression, "This stuff of his will break one day. And eventually I won’t be able to remember him clearly, will I? _Hiro’s gone_!”

Suddenly, the rage faded. The spark that had been driving him for the past couple weeks was extinguished. His arms fell to his sides, his legs trembling. Tadashi stumbled backwards, falling into the chair by his desk.

Tadashi was exhausted.

"…Hiro’s… _gone_ ,” he murmured miserably, his hands covering his face, “My little brother died for no reason. I let him die…”

He took several shuddering breaths, the prickling in his eyes becoming more pronounced by the second. He felt so tired…He couldn’t do this anymore.

"Please, Baymax…Stop it already."

"…Hiro is here," Baymax repeated once more, the sound of footsteps indicating that Baymax was walking in Tadashi’s direction, stopping just in front of where the college student sat.

"Baymax, I’m begging you-"

"Dude, ow! Not cool!”

Tadashi flinched at those words. Those words from a day that seemed so far away now. Slowly, not believing it, Tadashi removed his hands from his face and looked up.

There was a screen on Baymax’s chest. The bot was playing a video…a video of the day Tadashi had first introduced Hiro to Baymax. As he watched his little brother’s surprise and amusement over the bot, Tadashi felt like he was being stabbed.

He didn’t want to see this. He didn’t want to be reminded of the day he introduced Hiro to SFIT, the day that lead to what happened at the showcase. As the video of that moment came to an end, Tadashi opened his mouth, though he didn’t know what he wanted to tell Baymax.

"Ow! Man, not again!"

Tadashi’s mouth stayed open, his eyes widening as another video started up. But…But Hiro and Baymax had only interacted once with each other…Hadn’t they?

The video came into focus, showing that Baymax was in the bedroom upstairs. Hiro was seated in his chair at his desk, frowning at his finger. The fourteen year old glanced over in Baymax’s direction casually before doing a double take.

"Baymax!" Hiro cried, "What’re you doing here?"

"I heard the sound of distress," Baymax’s voice answered.

"No, I mean why are you-?" Hiro stopped talking, bonking his head lightly, "Oh, duh! I forgot Tadashi said there was an accident at the labs at his nerd school, so he’s keeping you here until everything’s fixed up there."

"You were distressed before," Baymax said, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Oh, uh, it’s just a paper cut," Hiro answered, showing his finger to Baymax, a long red line in the middle of it, "Nothing bad. A one at most on your scale."

"May I suggest an antibacterial spray and a bandage?"

"Go for it," Hiro watched as Baymax got to work on the injury, "You know, you really are pretty sick, Baymax."

"I cannot be sick, I am a robot," Baymax said as he finished applying the small bandage with pictures of robots on it to Hiro’s finger, "If you mean you are concerned of a virus in my programming, I-"

"No, it’s an expression," Hiro laughed, "It means ‘cool’, ‘awesome’, stuff like that. Tadashi did some great work on you, I’m pretty impressed."

"I see…I shall add that to my database."

~~~~~

"Ow."

Baymax’s video activated and showed Hiro standing in front of the bot, a grin on the teen’s face.

"Hello, Hiro," Baymax greeted, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Oh, no problem," Hiro answered, "I just got kinda bored. Tadashi’s at college and Aunt Cass went out. I thought I could talk with you."

Hiro reached into his pockets and pulled out a handful of microbots, holding them up for Baymax.

"Check these out!" Hiro was smiling rather smugly, "Awesome, right? I’ve been working on them for weeks!"

"Tiny robots," Baymax stated as he observed the microbots in Hiro’s hands, "They are…sick."

"Hey, you got it!" Hiro chuckled, pocketing all but one of the bots, "All alone, he can only go so far. But when he has his friends helping him, the possibilities are endless. These microbots are my ticket to SFIT!"

"You will be attending the same college as Tadashi?" Baymax asked as Hiro hopped into his chair.

"Yup, I’m gonna become a student at his nerd school," Hiro answered as he spun the chair around, "I really like those people that Tadashi hangs out with, they’re pretty cool. But it’s a new chapter in the story! Me and Tadashi are gonna shake up that whole school. Nothing stops the Hamada brothers when our brains get going!"

Hiro stopped spinning and looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, unless he’s still Mr. Killjoy. I miss the days when we made a hovercraft just for fun and flew it over the town and crashed in the park."

"You must have sustained heavy injuries from that incident," Baymax noted, "I should scan you for any lasting damage."

"Hey, I made it out without a scratch,” Hiro crossed his arms in front of him, a fond smile on his face, “Tadashi went and got his shoulder dislocated though. That guy…Going through all that trouble for me.”

~~~~~

"Hey there, Baymax!" Hiro greeted through a mouth full of hot wings.

Baymax quickly scanned the remaining chicken wings on Hiro’s plate.

"Hiro, you should know that the calorie count per wing is-"

"Don’t wanna hear it!" Hiro interrupted, waving a sauce covered hand dismissively, "I already had Tadashi hounding me about that yesterday, I don’t need a repeat lecture! Besides, I deserve a treat with how things are like right now!"

As Hiro wiped off his fingers and mouth on a multitude of napkins, he told Baymax all about how he couldn’t get the configurations of his neuro-cranial transmitter right.

"I just can’t figure out what’s wrong and the showcase is next week!" Hiro groaned.

"Hiro, I’m sensing an increase in your blood pressure and a slight increase in your blood cortisol levels," Baymax told him, "Diagnosis: stress."

"Bravo," Hiro replied sarcastically, "Well, thanks for letting me rant to you, Baymax. It would’ve been killer waiting for Tadashi to get back home to rant at him. And I bet I know just what he’d say."

Hiro put his hands on his hips and stared straight at Baymax’s camera eyes.

"I’m not giving up on you," Hiro deepened his voice in an attempt to mimic Tadashi’s, "You just hit a roadblock, that’s all. But I know you can make it through this! You’re stronger than you think. Believe in the me who believes in you."

Hiro let out a snicker.

"Well, Tadashi wouldn’t say that last part, but you get the gist of it.”

~~~~~

"Hiro, what seems to be the problem?" Baymax asked, "I detect a slight decrease in the release of serotonin and TSH in your body. However, I cannot find a physical cause behind that."

Hiro was seated in his usual chair, a frown on his face and his arms crossed in front of him.

"I just…overheard Tadashi saying something to his friends," Hiro grumbled.

Hiro proceeded to recount the events of that day Tadashi had almost forgotten. The day he came across a sleeping Hiro and told his friends of the slight jealousy he felt towards his super smart little brother.

"Jealous of me?” Hiro scoffed, “Jealous of the troublemaker who constantly sneaks out to be in illegal bot fights? The kid who couldn’t make a friend if he tried, who’s always been shorter and scrawnier?”

"I do not understand," Baymax said, "Is this ‘jealousy’ a problem?"

"It’s just…" Hiro let out a loud groan as he sunk down in his chair, "He keeps doing this! It’s not just him being jealous. He keeps blaming himself for everything too! He thinks he’s a bad brother because I keep getting bullied. He thinks he’s not doing a good job because I keep getting into trouble…"

Hiro sat up slowly, a bothered expression on his face.

"…He blames himself for what happened to Mom and Dad…"

Hiro shook his head before looking at Baymax with a bitter grin.

"Tadashi’s always been my idol," Hiro sighed, "I love the guy but he seriously needs to give himself more credit. He’s a pretty great brother for a giant nerd."

Hiro scratched his head and gave a more genuine smirk to Baymax.

"Hey, so I hear the labs are all fixed up, so Tadashi will be sending you back there tomorrow," Hiro mentioned, "I’ll miss you, but we’ll be seeing each other a ton once I’m a student. Hey, don’t go telling Tadashi what I’ve talked with you about, got it?"

"Affirmative," Baymax replied, "I shall add a note to the data of the footage warning him not to watch."

Hiro nodded absentmindedly before turning to stare at Baymax, eyes wide and mouth open in a mix of shock and mild horror.

"V-v-video footage?" Hiro stuttered, "You mean, you’ve been recording everything I’ve told you?"

"I record all interactions with my patients," Baymax explained, Hiro shaking more and more with each word, "All the data is then stored onto my medical chip. If needed, Tadashi can remove the video data from the chip and store it onto the computer."

"Agh!" Hiro yelled, "I can’t have him watching any of that! He’ll never let me live it down!"

Hiro raced towards Baymax, hand reaching towards where the access port was, before he paused, an annoyed look on his face.

"Aw man…" Hiro moaned before reciting, "Hamada Bros Rule 76. Hamada bros do not touch, steal, and/or borrow each other’s inventions/ideas unless given explicit permission or if the end of the world is nigh."

Hiro looked conflicted for just a moment.

"Well, if Tadashi sees those videos, it’ll be the end of my world, so I think I’m good,” he stated, “Sorry, Baymax, but I’m gonna need to borrow that chip of yours for a moment. Tadashi will be home any minute…Sorry that this is how we have to say goodbye.”

"It is fine," Baymax told the teen, "I shall see you again at the college."

"You got it, buddy."

Hiro then stepped closer, looking straight into Baymax’s camera eyes and smiling. For the briefest of seconds, it was almost as though the Hiro of the video could see Tadashi watching him.

"I’m satisfied with my care."

With that, the video paused on Hiro’s smiling face. It took a moment for Tadashi to realize that he was mimicking that smile himself, his eyes watering as he stared at the image of his baby brother. Tadashi reached out a hand, gently pressing it to the image of Hiro, to the boy’s cheek.

"Hiro had removed these videos and put them on the computer," Baymax explained, "I downloaded them along with the program on mental and emotional health back when I was activated."

Tadashi started to shudder as he kept staring at the image of Hiro before he closed his eyes and leaned forward, his forehead pressing against Baymax. The tears that had been building up finally started pouring down his cheeks, pained sobs escaping from his mouth.

_I’m not giving up on you. You just hit a roadblock, that’s all. But I know you can make it through this! You’re stronger than you think. Believe in the me who believes in you._

_Tadashi’s always been my idol. I love the guy but he seriously needs to give himself more credit. He’s a pretty great brother for a giant nerd._

_I’m satisfied with my care._

As Baymax gently pat the back of his head, Tadashi cried for the first time in weeks.

~~~~~

Tadashi didn’t know how long he cried for. But Baymax didn’t say anything, simply giving him comforting pats as he let out all of that pain he had been holding back ever since the day he found that microbot. After Baymax let him cry for as long as he needed, Tadashi wiped away the stray tears that remained and set about to fixing up the mess he created in the lab, Baymax assisting as the pair worked in silence.

As he picked up some books on the ground, Tadashi spotted Hiro’s notebook on the ground nearby. He had brought the notebook back down into the lab when he and the other were designing the suits. Tadashi picked up the notebook and stood up, gently flipping through the pages and admiring his brother’s designs.

He raised an eyebrow when he spotted a strange paper sticking out from the back pages of the book. Tadashi flipped to the end and saw, taped to the last page, was an old sketch that he had done of Baymax. On the page opposite the sketch were Hiro’s words.

_Found this just outside the trash a couple years back. Tadashi made it. I didn’t know what it was back then, but check out those notes! Those codes! It was a weird looking design, but Tadashi must’ve been planning something cool, so I kept it. I was right! He showed me this Baymax bot yesterday. So THAT’S what he’s been secretly working on all this time. If that’s what he can come up with on his own, I can’t wait to see what we can think up when we combine our notes! Tadashi and Hiro Hamada: Changing the world through our combined awesomeness!_

Tadashi let out a chuckle at the message as he closed the notebook and placed it gently atop his desk. It wasn’t in the way either of them had planned, but Hiro did end up getting to combine his notes with Tadashi’s during the making of the superhero suits and Baymax’s fighting chip.

And Tadashi had almost gone and turned his brother’s work into a tool for murder.

"Baymax," Tadashi muttered, looking over at the bot. Baymax tilted his head in Tadashi’s direction, "…I’m sorry. I was treating you so badly today. And I almost went and made you break the main rule of your programming."

"It is alright," Baymax replied, "You were not behaving like yourself. It is understandable. But now scans indicate that your emotional and mental state, as well as your neurotransmitter levels, are back to the levels they were at prior to the incident with the tracking device."

"Mostly thanks to you, buddy," Tadashi grinned as he went over to Baymax and patted his arm, "You’ve been a great friend, Baymax…I owe you."

The sound of footsteps made Tadashi and Baymax turn their heads towards the opening of the garage.

Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, and Fred stood there, eyeing the pair carefully. Tadashi felt a pang in his heart, remembering how he had acted back on Akuma Island. His throat dry, he coughed as he stepped forward.

"Guys…I am so sorry," Tadashi couldn’t stand to look them in the eye out of shame, "I was the worst friend to all of you before. I was a massive jerk."

"Got that right," Gogo stated.

"I hurt you guys."

"That you did," Fred rubbed his back.

"I scared all of you."

"Right again," Honey chuckled nervously.

"I didn’t act anything like myself," Tadashi muttered.

"No, you didn’t," Wasabi agreed.

Tadashi sighed as he finally looked up at the others, all of whom were watching him expectantly.

"I’m not asking you guys to forgive me," Tadashi mumbled, "But I swear I’m sorry for how I acted and I know you guys deserve so much better and-"

Tadashi was cut off when Gogo stepped forward and reached a hand up to lightly slap his cheek.

"There," she blew a bubble with her gum and popped it before smirking, "You’re forgiven."

"J-j-just like that?" Tadashi stammered as he looked at his smiling friends in confusion.

"We weren’t ever really mad at you, Tadashi,” Wasabi said, “We were just worried over what you were becoming. But if our Tadashi is back, then we’re cool.”

"Yeah, and I’m not really in much pain anymore," Fred cracked his back, as if to prove that point, "Besides, that flip just brought back memories of the day we met."

Honey stepped forward, pulling something out of one of the side pockets of her purse. Tadashi let out a soft breath when he recognized the muddied dark cloth as being the hood of Hiro’s jacket, the one he had tossed aside on that other island.

"I figured you didn’t really wanna throw this away," Honey explained as Tadashi took the cloth, "So we went back to get it for you."

Honey acted quickly when she saw Tadashi’s legs trembling, grabbing a nearby chair so that Tadashi could take a seat.

"…Thank you," Tadashi whispered, eyes locked on the cloth in his hands, a soft smile on his face, "Hiro wouldn’t have acted like I did…He would’ve hated me for what I almost did."

"I don’t think the little dude would hate you," Fred said as he slapped Tadashi’s shoulder, wincing briefly from how hard the metal of Tadashi’s suit was, "Hiro loved you too much."

"It’d be the same as with any of us," Gogo insisted, "He would’ve been mad at first, but he would’ve forgiven you. Because he knows what kind of person you really are, Tadashi."

Tadashi gave his friends a grateful look before looking at the cloth once more. Despite their words…Despite the words Hiro himself had said in those videos, Tadashi still couldn’t get rid of that small seed of doubt.

The twenty year old was soon shaken out of his thoughts when Gogo wrapped her arms around him, hugging him gently. Soon, Honey joined in on the hug, followed by Fred and Wasabi.

"We’ll catch Callaghan," Gogo promised, "But we’re gonna do it right this time."

As he felt the warmth of his friends’ hug, Tadashi looked over to where Baymax stood. He felt such peace in that moment, more than he had felt in a long time, and he smiled.

"Yeah…I swear, I won’t make a repeat of what happened on Akuma Island," Tadashi told them as they finally released their hold on him, "I…I don’t know what I’m gonna do when I see Callaghan. But I won’t behave like I did back then."

"I’ll hold you to that," Wasabi warned Tadashi good-naturedly.

"By the way," Honey took out a jump drive, "There’s something we need to show you."

The group showed Tadashi the video revealing Callaghan’s presence at the test of the Silent Sparrow project. As they watched the footage again, it suddenly hit Tadashi.

The test pilot’s name was Abigail. And Callaghan’s daughter was also…

Honey pointed out the video showing Callaghan hugging the test pilot. They had their answers. The pilot was Abigail Callaghan, the daughter who the professor had lost two years earlier. Callaghan wanted revenge on Krei for his daughter’s death.

"Hey, I think the news said something about a big ceremony going on over at Krei Tech today," Wasabi said, "Callaghan’s probably heading there right now!"

"Then, let’s do our superhero thing, folks!" Fred exclaimed.

"Wait just a few more minutes," Tadashi said, looking up at the ceiling, "…There’s one more person I need to apologize to."

~~~~~

"Aunt Cass?"

With a loud yawn, Aunt Cass opened her eyes slowly. She had fallen fast asleep on the couch after spending a good hour petting Mochi after that horrible phone call. When her eyes finally adjusted to what was in front of her, she let out a shriek.

"Oh! Tadashi!" Aunt Cass put a hand over her heart, trying to calm down from the shock as she stood up, "I…I didn’t recognize you!"

Understandable considering that her nephew was currently wearing a strange suit, one that wouldn’t look out of place in a comic book.

"Is this some of that convention stuff that I’ve seen people do?" Aunt Cass asked, trying to take in the suit and just how real it looked, "W-well, it definitely looks cool."

"Aunt Cass," Tadashi let out a sigh as he looked her in the eyes, "I have a lot to explain to you right now.”

And over the next several minutes, Tadashi told her exactly what he had been up to over the past couple of weeks. About the microbots, about the man in a kabuki mask, about that man’s identity…

…About the truth of Hiro’s death.

By the time Tadashi was finished, Aunt Cass was in tears, her nephew wrapping his arms around her and trying to offer whatever comfort he could.

She believed him. She knew Tadashi well enough after all. This was all absolutely wild, but it was too wild for Tadashi to make up. And this wasn’t something he would dare joke about.

"I’m a failure," Aunt Cass sobbed, "I couldn’t protect you from any of this. I didn’t even know what you were going through."

"Don’t say that!" Tadashi’s voice was firm, almost angry, "You’ve been the best, to me and Hiro, Aunt Cass. It’s not your fault I’ve been hiding all of this. And nothing you said would’ve stopped me, let’s be honest.”

Aunt Cass shook her head as she looked at Tadashi’s face.

"You’re only twenty," she whispered, wiping away her tears, "You shouldn’t be going through this. None of this should be happening."

"It’s just how fate worked out," Tadashi muttered, "…Aunt Cass, I need to go. Callaghan is gonna try and hurt someone, and my friends and I have to stop him."

Aunt Cass immediately started to protest. She had already lost one of her babies, she couldn’t bear to lose the other one as well.

"We’re the only ones who can help!" Tadashi interrupted, "No one else knows what’s about to happen but us. I promise you, we can handle this, Aunt Cass."

They argued for several minutes more before Aunt Cass realized that Tadashi was truly his mother’s son. Far too stubborn to give in once he’s decided on something. She had never been able to stop Marie once she had become set on something, why would it be any different with Tadashi? All she could do was wrap her arms tightly around Tadashi, trying her best not to start crying once again.

"Promise me you’ll come home," Aunt Cass let out several shaky breaths, "Just please…If nothing else, come home to me."

"I will," Tadashi swore when Aunt Cass released him, "No matter what, I’ll come home."

"…And give Callaghan a good hit from me."

"You got it, Aunt Cass," Tadashi chuckled lightly.

Aunt Cass nodded at that before latching onto her nephew once more.

"Last hug," she told him.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Tadashi replied as he returned her embrace.

~~~~~

Callaghan adjusted the kabuki mask that contained the neuro-cranial transmitter. He looked over at the pieces of the portal. It had taken a long time, but he had managed to recover all the pieces and repair them. Once they were connected, the nightmare of that day two years earlier would be repeated.

Only this time, it was Krei who would be suffering.

After two years of grief and agony and burning hatred, it would finally happen. He could finally have his revenge on Alistair Krei. His poor Abigail would finally be able to rest in peace.

He’d make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, and we're done! Man, I am not looking forward to writing the next chapter. In case you guys don't know, I really suck at writing fighting sequences. And that's gonna make up a good portion of the next chapter, I believe. Ugh…The next chapter's gonna take forever to come out.
> 
> Anyways, now you guys finally have your answers regarding Hiro and Baymax. Hiro taught Baymax about the "sick" expression and about Hamada Bros Rule 76. And you also get to find out just why Hiro was so bothered when he confronted Tadashi about being jealous. It was fun writing Hiro again in the story. I mean, I know I wrote him last chapter, but that was a short scene. It was nice having a good long scene with Hiro, something that I haven't written since chapters four and five.
> 
> And yes, I did add a little Gurren Lagann reference there, I couldn't help myself.
> 
> Glad we also got to have Tadashi and Aunt Cass make their peace, as I said they would. And, like I said, Tadashi's healing has begun. He's not gonna be better right away, of course not. He's still in pain but he's now on the path to recovering properly. He's done pushing away his loved ones and bottling up his feelings. Plus, he wants to do things right by Hiro.
> 
> Man, only two more chapters until this fic is over. It's really weird to think about, but it is how it is, I suppose.
> 
> Please keep reading and reviewing, and thank you all!


	14. I'm Satisfied With My Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, everyone! You are now speaking to a Willow who is one year older, having had her birthday a couple days ago~! And it snowed on my birthday too, thus continuing the very nice tradition that every year on my birthday it is either snowing or there is snow on the ground. Sorry it took so long to get this update out, I had other priorities and it was a bit of a tough chapter for me to get right.
> 
> OH! And before I forget, two people drew me two more absolutely wonderful pieces of fanart for this story. All of this can be viewed on my Tumblr under the "bh6: twist of fate" tag. I am seriously so happy to have people enjoy this story enough to draw things from it! Speaking of this story…
> 
> This is the second to last episode, folks! The next chapter is all conclusion stuff, so this chapter is the one that finishes almost all of the movie related scenes. I plan on having the finale out by January 13th, since I started this story on FFN on November 13th, and I like little details like that. Anyways, thanks for all the love and support so far! Now, time to get into the story, right?
> 
> Disclaimer: I didn't get the papers to own Big Hero 6 for my birthday, so I still don't own it.

Krei adjusted his suit before going over his notes once more. It was the day of the ceremony at Krei Tech, announcing the leap forward in technological advancements they had accomplished recently. His speech would be given to nearly a hundred journalists and top scientists from around the country. In his career, Krei had given hundreds upon thousands of talks and speeches to large audiences. He always did have a way with words, ever since he was young. He had no need to worry.

And yet there was a feeling of dread building up inside of him. He wasn’t sure why, it wasn’t like he expected the speech to go badly. Krei sighed, pocketing the notecards he used to practice his speech. Perhaps he had a good hunch what was wrong with him, not just today but what had been wrong for the past week and a half.

It all had to do with that Hamada boy.

That unexpected encounter with him, that picture…Krei couldn’t figure out how Tadashi Hamada had found even the slightest information about Project Silent Sparrow. He was just a college student. Sure, Krei knew the Hamada boy was one of Callaghan’s personal favorite students. Callaghan had told him so several years back when Krei had attempted to recruit the then very promising young college freshman, only for Callaghan to stop him before he could even meet the boy.

But there was no way Callaghan would go around talking about the project to his students, not with what happened to his daughter.

Krei closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath. Abigail Callaghan…It wasn’t supposed to happen like it did. She was gung-ho about participating in the project and immediately volunteered to be the first human subject. Krei personally made sure everything was in order. Not just because he had a lot riding on this project or because Callaghan was such a respected roboticist. Krei didn’t want to be responsible for the loss of a life.

But things still went wrong and young Abigail was lost. Callaghan never forgave him for that. Truth be told, after trying to do so for several months, Krei stopped asking for his forgiveness.

"Mr. Krei?"

Krei looked towards the doorway, where his assistant was standing.

"Sir, General Schneider demands a talk with you," his assistant informed him.

Krei’s brow furrowed slightly at that. The general sure did have some excellent timing, the speech set to begin in less than ten minutes. But if there was anything new regarding the issue with the project…

"Alright, send him in," Krei said, his assistant nodding and going off to retrieve the general.

"It’s not like I would’ve gone away if you said no," General Schneider stated as he entered the room.

"It’s good to see you again, sir," Krei greeted as he shook the older man’s hand.

"Wish it was under better circumstances," the general looked deeply unsettled, "We checked out all the spots the pieces of the portal were dumped…They’re all empty."

Well…The dread in Krei’s stomach increased tenfold at that. After the failure of Project Silent Sparrow, the surviving portal was broken into several pieces and dumped into the ocean at separate remote spots. If they were gone…

"There aren’t that many people who know where they were," Krei said, nervously adjusting his tie.

"You don’t have to tell me that," the general growled, "We’re at the end of our wits tracking down everyone who worked on the project and clearing them."

"And?" Krei had noticed the strange tone the general had.

"And…I’m trying to check into what that Hamada boy said," General Schneider said.

Krei raised an eyebrow at that. What the Hamada boy said? The general couldn’t possibly mean that nonsense about a masked man using those microbots?

"I know how impossible it sounds," General Schneider admitted with a weary sigh, "But it’s not like we have much else to go on…Well, I’ll leave you to your speech then."

With that, the general left Krei on his own, rattled by the strange events of the past couple weeks. But Krei had no time to be worried.

He had an audience waiting for him.

~~~~~

It was a nightmare. An utter nightmare. It had to be, because this didn’t make sense. Robert Callaghan was right in front of him, alive, holding him with a mass of microbots. The portal that had haunted his dreams was being reformed high above them, destroying his building, Krei Tech, and sucking the mangled pieces into whatever strange world lay inside. Down below, most people had escaped the area. However, Krei could see some injured people still in the danger zone, one of them being an unconscious General Schneider.

A nightmare come to life.

"Robert, listen to me!" Krei pleaded, wincing when the microbots tightened their grasp around his chest. He gasped, trying to suck in as much air as he could, "What happened two years ago…What happened to Abigail was-"

"Don’t you _dare_ say her name!” Callaghan snarled. His face mirrored the expression he had that day two years earlier, rage that warned of nothing pretty in Krei’s nonexistent future, “Don’t talk like you’re sorry!”

"Robert, it was an accident! You know we went over the data for a whole year afterwards! We-"

"You did _this_ , you did _that_ ,” Callaghan’s voice was cold, “But the second something went wrong, you didn’t stop the experiment. You ruined everything. Now… _accept your fate_.”

He couldn’t…He couldn’t bear to think that this was how it was going to end.

"CALLAGHAN!"

~~~~~

Tadashi jumped off Baymax’s back and stood beside the rest of his friends, the visor of his helmet lifting up as he glared at Callaghan.

Callaghan and Krei both turned their heads to stare, Krei in shock and Callaghan looking utterly sick and tired of dealing with the makeshift superhero team.

Tadashi’s heart was hammering away at the sight of his former professor. He was starting to see red once more, but he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, his fists clenched tightly and shaking. He had come up with a whole little speech for Callaghan, to at least try and stop this without any more fighting.

But, with Callaghan standing before him, Tadashi knew. He hated the man. Hated him more than he had ever hated himself. He couldn’t do it…

Thankfully, his friends took over for him when he couldn’t find the will to speak.

"Callaghan, that’s enough!" Gogo shouted, "You’re putting too many people in danger for your stupid revenge!"

"Professor, please!” Honey cried next, “Your daughter wouldn’t want you to do this!”

Callaghan seemed to freeze at Honey’s words.

"We saw the footage, Professor Evil Dude!" Fred yelled. He saw the unimpressed look Gogo was shooting at him, "Sorry, I couldn’t help myself."

"We know what happened to Abigail," Wasabi explained, "Doing this won’t bring her back."

"I know that!" Callaghan snapped at them before glaring at Krei, "But it’ll make her rest in peace."

"Is that what you think?!" Tadashi asked angrily, finally having the strength to talk, "Don’t you think you’ve tainted enough people’s memories, Callaghan?"

Something snapped in Callaghan as he looked at Tadashi coldly. Tadashi knew this was the breaking point, there was no going back. Callaghan wouldn’t be taken down without force.

As Tadashi watched Callaghan snap the kabuki mask back on his face, pinning Krei to a nearby wall with a sheet of metal, he knew that they needed to come up with a plan right away.

"So, what’re we doing?" Wasabi asked as a giant wall of microbots rose up behind Callaghan.

"We’re getting that mask," Gogo answered, "Aren’t we?"

The microbots came crashing down towards them, causing the team to quickly scramble backwards to avoid the hit. As Callaghan manipulated the bots for a second blow, Tadashi spoke up.

"No, not the mask," he looked up and saw the second microbot wave coming, "Split up!"

Honey and Fred darted to the left, Gogo and Wasabi to the right. Tadashi jumped onto Baymax and the pair took to the skies as the microbots narrowly avoided them.

"Alright, listen carefully," Tadashi spoke into the helmet’s communication system, hoping the others heard him clearly, "Forget about the mask, it’ll be too troublesome. It’s the microbots themselves we need to get rid of."

"And how do we do that?" Wasabi’s voice asked.

"Same way Callaghan’s getting rid of Krei Tech," Tadashi answered, glancing up at the portal above them. Baymax suddenly jetted upwards to escape a trail of microbots that had almost struck them. Tadashi could hear some screams coming from his friends over the communication link, "Guys, listen! The microbots are strong as a team, but break them up and they’re nothing! Break up the links and hurl them high enough, let the portal take care of the rest!"

"And you’re okay with this?" Honey’s voice asked as Baymax swerved them around to avoid another pillar of microbots.

Tadashi knew what she meant. These bots, despite all the trouble they caused, were Hiro’s last work. His brother had put his heart and soul into these bots for weeks, months, on end.

"But these aren’t Hiro’s microbots,” Tadashi stated firmly, “We need to get rid of them…Me and Baymax will take on Callaghan. It’ll distract him enough for you guys to get to work. Keep an eye out for any injured people too!”

"Tadashi…" Gogo’s voice sounded concerned.

"I hate Callaghan but I won’t act like him," Tadashi promised before adding, "And remember, if you guys get stuck, look at things from a different angle! Now, go!"

With that command, the others agreed with the plan and set out to handle the microbots.

"Ready, Baymax?" Tadashi asked, patting the bot gently.

"I have a few concerns," Baymax replied.

"I hear you, buddy…"

~~~~~

The plan was working. Slowly, but it was working.

Tadashi could see faint outlines of hundreds of microbots flying up towards the portal from various points of the battleground. He had to make sure Callaghan wasn’t aware of what was happening, so he made sure Baymax flew around the man, ducking and weaving and swerving to avoid the microbots that chased them. Tadashi could feel the slightest twinges of panic deep inside him, but he forced himself to ignore all of that. He needed to concentrate on the issue at hand.

Tadashi also made sure to pay attention to what was going on with the others using the communication link. He had been concerned at several points, such as when Wasabi sounded like he was being crushed or Gogo sounded like she was trapped, but his friends used those brains to their advantages, escaping theirs traps with their lives.

"You’ll be ready to catch me, right Baymax?" Tadashi whispered as they flew towards Callaghan.

"Affirmative," Baymax answered.

With a nod, Tadashi lowered his visor and, once they got near Callaghan, he launched himself off Baymax’s back. Using the thrusters on Tadashi’s suit, he was able to maneuver himself so that his leg spun and almost made contact with Callaghan’s shoulder. Callaghan managed to barely dodge the attack, but Baymax was right there for Tadashi to land upon.

The twenty year old didn’t allow Callaghan time to recover, immediately kicking off Baymax and activating his thrusters to their max power, causing him to charge forward and ram headfirst into Callaghan’s stomach.

But Tadashi had missed the rope of microbots that was just above him. As he made contact with Callaghan, the former professor maintained enough focus to have the microbots grab Tadashi’s leg and send him hurtling down onto the ground.

With a loud crash, Tadashi groaned as he lay in the little crater that had been formed upon impact.

"I’m feeling that one in the morning," he hissed with pain before looking up, seeing that Callaghan had caught himself in a microbot net, "Wait, where’s Baymax?"

A second loud crash caught his attention. Tadashi looked over and saw Baymax being overtaken by thousands of the microbots.

"Hang on!" Tadashi yelled as he got to his feet and started running towards the nurse bot.

But it seemed Callaghan had other ideas in mind. Tadashi skidded to a stop as several pillars of microbots suddenly surrounded him. He briefly noticed that the number of microbots was far less than they were earlier in the fight, and Callaghan wasn’t aware of that. But there were still a good number of them around.

"Move it," Tadashi ordered calmly, getting into his stance, "My friend needs me."

One group of microbots shot out towards him, but Tadashi quickly closed his fist and swung his arm out, breaking apart their formation. Another group made their move immediately afterwards, causing Tadashi to cross his arms in an X shape before him before quickly moving them apart, striking away the microbots.

Tadashi ran forward, jumping up and kicking out to break through a wall of microbots blocking him. He kicked backwards to ward off another wave of the bots. He hurried forward, leaping and changing positions at the drop of a hat to avoid the persistent attacks.

But he wasn’t fast enough. With a shout, Tadashi fell forward as a group of the tiny robots grabbed his leg. He struggled violently but more and more microbots started to cover him. Tadashi looked over at where Baymax was, seeing the bot helpless against the massive swarm engulfing him.

"Look for a new angle, Hamada," Tadashi grunted as he tried to pull his trapped arm free of the bots’ grasp.

It hit him like a freight train. A way to rescue Baymax and get himself out of trouble.

After all, Tadashi had made sure to program Baymax very carefully. While activated, if one of Baymax’s patients were injured, the robot was programmed to get to his patient, no matter what.

Tadashi wrenched an arm free and reached out towards a nearby pile of debris. He stretched his hand, his fingers brushing against a jagged piece of concrete.

"Got it!" Tadashi cried as his hand enclosed around a piece of the concrete. The visor of his helmet lifted up, "I swear, if I get a disease from this…"

Tadashi braced himself and made a minor but still painful cut on his cheek, causing him to let out a short cry of pain as he felt a bit of blood trickle from the wound.

"Tadashi?" he heard Baymax’s voice call out just before the bot was engulfed by the microbots.

Just as expected, Baymax let out a rocket fist, causing the microbots to scatter. The bot rocketed towards Tadashi, grabbing the young man and freeing him from his own prison before the pair took to the skies once more.

"Tadashi, I must attend to your injury," Baymax stated as he scanned the cut on Tadashi’s cheek.

"Later, buddy," Tadashi answered with a chuckle before carefully maneuvering himself onto Baymax’s back, "I just needed a way for us to escape. I got your attention, didn’t I?"

"Please refrain from using such methods to gain my attention in the future, Tadashi."

~~~~~

“ _Why can’t you stay down_?!” Callaghan roared when Tadashi and Baymax flew up to meet him.

"Baymax, let’s end this," Tadashi said determinedly.

This time, Tadashi just hung onto the bot as Baymax used his own karate skills to take on the masses of microbots. In the distance, Tadashi saw more and more of the tiny robots flying into the portal. He couldn’t help but let out a short laugh when he saw a giant pink explosion off on the other end of the battlefield.

"This is it," Tadashi muttered when he quickly glanced around and saw how many microbots were left, "Alright, Baymax, up we go!"

Baymax flew upwards, past Callaghan, causing the man to follow the pair, using more and more microbots to take him higher and higher. Tadashi and Baymax stopped close to where the portal was. Tadashi couldn’t help but shiver as he felt the slight pull of the machine behind him. Baymax’s rockets were what was keeping them from joining the microbots and debris in the portal.

Tadashi smiled smugly as Callaghan tried to send out a wave of microbots to strike the pair down, only to realize he used all the microbots he had left just to get up this high. Baymax rolled over so that Tadashi could easily kick off of the bot’s back.

He grabbed Callaghan by the front of his coat as the two fell. Baymax quickly grabbed onto Tadashi with one arm, Tadashi’s grip on the coat being all that kept Callaghan from falling several hundred feet to the cold, debris infested ground below.

"We’ll take that," Tadashi stated as Baymax removed the mask, crushing it and the neuro-cranial transmitter in his fist.

Callaghan looked shocked and furious as the remaining microbots, without any command to power them, fell apart from each other and got sucked into the portal.

"Baymax," Tadashi had a rather mischievous smile on his face as he looked Callaghan in the eye, "See you on the ground."

Baymax only nodded before he released Tadashi, causing the young man and his former professor to plummet towards the streets below.

"Are you _mad_?!” Callaghan shouted as the ground came closer and closer.

"Depends," Tadashi’s tone was icy as he glared at Callaghan, "Which kind of ‘mad’ are you referring to?"

Tadashi didn’t allow the man a chance to answer, maneuvering himself so that his feet pointed at the ground. Tadashi activated his thrusters, slowing down the pair considerably, allowing them to gently land on their feet.

As the portal, without any bots to hold it up, crashed to the ground behind them and Baymax and the rest of the gang regrouped, Tadashi wordlessly punched Callaghan in the face. He watched the man stumble backwards and fall down, a hand covering his now bleeding and possibly broken nose.

"That was from my aunt," Tadashi growled.

The young man looked over at the others, who were watching him nervously. Tadashi took a deep breath before smiling gently at the group.

"I swore I wouldn’t act like I did on Akuma Island," Tadashi told them, "Have I kept my promise?"

The others immediately eased up, exchanging smiles. It was finally over…

Or perhaps not.

"Why’s the portal still on?" Gogo shouted as the portal seemed to only suck things in at a faster rate than before.

"It’s tearing itself apart!" Krei, who had been rescued by Honey earlier, explained anxiously, "It’ll get rid of itself but we need to get away from it, now!"

The group didn’t need telling twice. However, Tadashi noticed that Baymax refused to move, staring intently at the portal. And that was when the bot made a startling reveal.

There was a female inside the portal…And she was alive.

"But that could only be…" Fred murmured.

"Abigail," Callaghan’s tone was a mix of disbelief and hope.

Tadashi looked at Callaghan, his teeth gritted and his body shaking. This wasn’t fair…It wasn’t…But…

"Baymax, let’s go," Tadashi stated as he climbed onto the bot’s back.

"Go?" Wasabi repeated confusedly, "What do you mean by that?"

"Abigail’s alive in there," Tadashi looked at his friends. Their fear made his heart hurt, but he had to do this, "Somebody has to help."

If he didn’t, he’d never forgive himself. His hatred was towards Robert Callaghan alone.

"Then, we’re coming too!" Gogo stepped forward.

"Me and Baymax alone," Tadashi’s voice remained firm, "We’ll come back."

"You better, man," Fred smiled, trying to hide how much he was shaking, "We don’t wanna lose you."

"Promise you’ll come back!" Honey stared him right in the eyes.

"I will," Tadashi replied with a nod as he turned his head back towards the portal, "I promised Aunt Cass, after all…Let’s go, Baymax."

~~~~~

A Mandelbulb…The world inside the portal was an actual Mandelbulb come to life. He’d read up on the Mandelbrot set and the Mandelbulb, but Tadashi never dreamed he would see it like this.

Were it not for the dangerous, serious, time restrictive mission he and Baymax were currently on, Tadashi would’ve had quite the embarrassing geek out.

Tadashi tore his eyes away from the beauty of the portal world, instead on guard for any debris as Baymax scanned around to locate Abigail Callaghan. After several tense moments and near misses, the pair came across an iced over pod, the same pod from the footage recovered from that abandoned lab. Tadashi scraped off some of the ice, scared of what he would see inside.

Abigail looked much like she did in the video. It was like she had merely fallen asleep for the past two years. Tadashi released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding when he saw a white puff leave her nose. She was still breathing.

"The pod has kept her alive," Baymax explained, "However, it is imperative that we get her medical assistance immediately."

"No arguments there," Tadashi put his hands on the pod, like Baymax was doing. While Baymax would provide the main force, Tadashi would provide directions and additional force with his own thrusters if needed, "You know, I’m with Wasabi. When did our lives become like a comic book?"

The two quickly but carefully maneuvered the pod around debris, closer and closer to their exit. However, neither of them was paying close attention to what was happening behind them.

Tadashi turned his head when he saw a shadow looming, but it was too late. The giant piece of debris was far too close.

A flash of red crossed before him before he suddenly slammed against the top of the pod, an agonizing pain shooting through his legs, causing him to cry out. Tadashi’s vision went black for a few seconds as he continued to cry and gasp at the feeling of pain and…cold…

When Tadashi’s vision returned to normal and he looked around, his heart nearly stopped.

There was Baymax, most of the bot’s armor destroyed, floating away. Ignoring the pain he felt, Tadashi quickly reached out and grabbed Baymax, pulling him close to the pod, making sure the bot had a firm grip on it.

"I failed to prevent your injury," Baymax stated.

Tadashi took a deep breath and looked at his legs.

"Oh great," he hissed.

The suit was destroyed from the knees down, explaining why his skin felt so ice cold. The visible skin of both legs was sliced open and bleeding. He could feel the pain, a good sign, but he was certain his bones were fractured, if not broken.

"That debris could have killed me," Tadashi said, smiling gratefully at Baymax, "You saved my life, buddy."

"My rockets are inoperable," Baymax informed him.

Tadashi’s eyes widened at the news. Wincing from the pain in his legs, he looked over in the direction of the portal.

So close…It was so close. But with Baymax’s rockets broken and his own thrusters gone, they had no chance.

Was he really going to leave Aunt Cass alone? Was he gonna break his promise to her, to his friends?

…Perhaps…Perhaps he’d be able to see his parents and Hiro again…

A loud whirring noise interrupted Tadashi from his morbid thoughts. He looked over at Baymax and was surprised by what he saw.

Baymax had activated his rocket fist, pressing it against the pod.

"Tadashi, are you satisfied with your care?" Baymax asked.

"Wh-what?" Tadashi stuttered, his stomach turning as he realized what was happening, "Baymax, I-I’m not leaving you!"

"The woman in the pod requires medical attention," Baymax went on, heedless of Tadashi’s growing panic, "And your injuries need immediate medical care. The coldness is going to lead to severe frostbite if you stay here much longer."

"But you’re coming too!" Tadashi yelled, grabbing Baymax’s free hand, "I’ll hold onto you and that fist of yours can-"

"Tadashi, I cannot deactivate unless you say you’re satisfied with your care," Baymax interrupted.

"Listen to me!" Tadashi cried, his eyes watering, his heart racing, "I told you before, you’re my friend! You don’t tell your friends to deactivate! You’re coming!"

But even as Tadashi rambled on and on, the logical side of him knew the truth. Baymax’s rocket fist was powerful, but it could only do so much, especially in this kind of environment. Most of Baymax’s armor was destroyed but a decent amount of it still remained. And that armor carried a lot of weight. It was already pushing it to have the fist be able to propel Tadashi in his suit and the pod to the portal in time.

"Tadashi, there’s no time," Baymax gently interrupted Tadashi’s nonsensical rambling, "Please tell me you are satisfied with your care-"

“ _SHUT UP_!” Tadashi sobbed, the tears spilling over. They stung as they made contact with the still fresh wound on his cheek, but he didn’t care, “Don’t make me lose you too! I can’t do this!”

"Tadashi, I will always be here…"

Tadashi looked at Baymax’s face at those words. He thought he saw the bot’s eyes flash red for a brief second. Puzzled, he followed where Baymax was pointing.

The pieces came together…

"…You…You knucklehead," Tadashi pulled himself close to Baymax and wrapped his arms around the bot, crying. Baymax returned the hug with his free arm. They had hugged before, but Tadashi never felt such peace from the bot’s embrace until that moment, "…Yeah. I’m satisfied…I’m satisfied with my care."

With those words, Baymax launched the rocket fist.

And Tadashi let go.

~~~~~

The pod launched out of the portal with mere seconds to spare. The portal quickly collapsed in on itself and, within a few short seconds, the machine and the world it lead to vanished. Tadashi slid off the top of the portal as he heard his friends cheering and coming closer. The second his legs hit the ground, he collapsed. Yeah, they were definitely broken.

Not like if they weren’t he would’ve been strong enough to stay standing anyways.

"Dude!" Fred cried out, "Man, your legs look awful!"

"Tadashi, where’s Baymax?" Wasabi asked.

Tadashi looked up at the curious faces of his friends. His expression must have said it all, as they all immediately looked over at where the portal had been in shock and sadness.

"He saved my life," Tadashi whispered, "But I left him there…I…"

"Enough," Gogo’s voice was stern, but the hand she put on his shoulder was gentle, "If there was another way, you would have thought of it."

Tadashi knew that…But it didn’t stop the pain. It never stopped the pain.

"C’mon, we need to get you to a hospital," Honey told him softly.

"Where’s Callaghan?" Tadashi asked.

"Under arrest, of course."

Tadashi flinched automatically at that familiar voice. General Schneider, a bruise on his head and his military uniform torn and crumpled, made his way over to the group.

"I thought so," the general said as he looked over the team, "Hamada and his friends. Who else could it have been?"

Wasabi carefully helped Tadashi to his feet. The young man placed his arms around Fred and Honey, who gave him the support to stay standing through the pain.

"It’s straight to the hospital for you," General Schneider stated after one look at Tadashi’s legs, "I hope you guys are aware we will need to ask you all questions about this incident. But that can wait a few days, don’t you think?"

The group let out a sigh of relief at that. They quickly but carefully moved out of sight as several officers and medics arrived at the pod and got to work getting Abigail out of it.

"You could have your legs checked out here, you know," the general noted.

"He’s a superhero," Fred answered, "Can’t have his identity revealed like that."

"More like we don’t need unnecessary attention," Gogo stated, "We’ll get out of here, get out of these costumes, and get him to a hospital. Someone make up a story to tell the doctors."

"Wait, so Callaghan’s just gonna be in the local jail after all this?" Wasabi asked the general bewilderedly as Fred excitedly got to work on an epic tale to explain Tadashi’s injuries, Honey gently putting down some of the more wild ideas.

"No, we’re holding him there for the time being," the general explained, "After we clarify some things, he’ll be moved to a more high security prison. And we’ll be taking over from there.”

"General Schneider," Tadashi waited for the general to look at him, "I have a couple favors to ask."

"Well, after everything you lot did, if it’s in my power, I’d be happy to see what I can do," General Schneider replied with a grin.

"There’s a robot fist by the pod…We need to get out of here quickly, but can you drop it off at my house?"

"Is that all?" the general glanced over in the direction of the pod, "Well…I don’t see the harm in that. Anything else?"

"Yeah," Tadashi’s expression grew fierce, "It’s about Callaghan…"

Once Tadashi stated his request, the general assured him that he’d do his best to fulfill it. With that knowledge, the group of five finally made their exit from the battlefield.

It had been several long weeks since the fire, since the tragic young death that started all of this. Robert Callaghan had been apprehended. Abigail Callaghan was alive and receiving urgent medical care. Alistair Krei had survived, though the same couldn’t really be said for Krei Tech itself. The gang was now on their way to get Tadashi the medical care he desperately needed. They had done what they set out to do.

And all it had cost Tadashi was one of his best friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done! The second to last chapter, the most annoying chapter I've ever had to write for this story, is done! The final chapter will be up on the 13th, I assure you. That one will be much easier for me to write, I know it. And so, all the main action stuff has been completed at last. I know there wasn't much fighting, but I tried with what I had to work with. And a good portion of it would have been the same as the movie, so I didn't really bother checking on the others during that scene.
> 
> I actually was gonna do this whole thing in which Tadashi got electrocuted thanks to his ionocraft thrusters, but I ended up scrapping the idea and going with this instead. And, unlike Hiro, Tadashi didn't really handle Callaghan the same way, did he? And he's not done with him yet, as you can see.
> 
> Alright, my research. I'll keep it quick. The karate moves Tadashi used against the microbots were harai uke, jodan juji uke, mae tobi geri, and ushiro geri. Videos weren't working for me so I couldn't watch videos of this stuff, so it was a bit difficult.
> 
> The Mandelbulb and Mandelbrot set is something very complex and math related. The Mandelbulb is a 3D analogue of the Mandelbrot set. Seriously, it is ridiculously hard to understand the math. I was reading up on that stuff for about two hours and I couldn't really figure out a way to explain it. If you wanna know about it, Google is your friend.
> 
> Anyways, next chapter will be our big finale! Please keep reading and reviewing and I'll see you guys then!


	15. Thank You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are guys! THE FINAL CHAPTER OF TWIST OF FATE! Yup, this is it, folks! The grand finale of this story. And, just as I said I would, I finished it on January 13th, two months after I started this story on FFN. It has been an absolutely wonderful and fun two months working on this story. In order to make sure the opening notes aren't too long, I shall save all my thanks and stuff for the bottom author notes. Otherwise we'd have this giant beginning author notes, and it'd look annoying, I'm sure. But I have a lot to say, so my bottom author notes are gonna be on the long side, for sure!
> 
> You'll see the writing style for this chapter is somewhat different than the previous chapters. Well, I had planned on the finale being like this since I began this fic. I hope you guys do like it!
> 
> Oh, before I continue, I wanna say happy birthday to one of my reviewers, Hedgi, who stated they were celebrating their birthday today. Well, here's my unofficial birthday present to you: the last chapter of the fic!
> 
> And so, for the last time regarding this story, let's head into the conclusion of Twist Of Fate~!
> 
> Disclaimer: It's the end of the tale and I still do not own Big Hero 6…Darn…

_I'm Tadashi Hamada, age 20. And this is my very first journal._

_It's been over three months since the night of the showcase. It's been just over a month since the battle at Krei Tech. Everything's over. So everything should be fine now. But Hiro is still gone. Baymax isn't around to talk to. I tried talking to Aunt Cass about everything that happened. It's much easier now that I'm not keeping secrets from her. But, I don't know, I couldn't explain myself around her. I couldn't explain what happened._

_So, a few days after the battle, I made a decision. I decided to follow through on a suggestion Baymax made a while ago. I decided I needed to talk to a psychologist. Dr. Rodriguez-Moore was more than happy to offer her help. Our first few meetings were spent talking. Well, I talked and yelled and raged at everything and everyone while she calmly listened. I'm surprised I didn't blab about the whole superhero thing during some of those sessions._

_During our latest meeting she handed me this journal. "Writing therapy", she calls it. Said it'd be good for sorting out my emotions. She said I could write whatever I wanted, but now and then she'd give me certain assignments to write about._

_Well, good thing she'll never read this. I don't think any future entries I have planned about fighting Callaghan and the battle at Krei Tech will go over too well with her, honestly._

~~~~~

Two broken fibula, several deep gashes, a minor cut to the cheek, and, to the utter confusion of the entire medical staff, minor frostbite. That was the verdict once the gang had gotten Tadashi to the hospital after the nightmare of trying to get there and get out of their suits without being noticed. They simply chalked up the broken bones and gashes to being at Krei Tech during the battle, but the frostbite had been a doozy to explain away.

The others weren't anywhere near as hurt, thank goodness. Cuts and bruises, a minor concussion here and there, but overall, not bad. Tadashi was the only one who had to stay at the hospital, but he was out within a week, allowed to continue his recovery from the comfort of his home.

Mochi was Tadashi's near constant companion, since Aunt Cass usually had to tend to the café.

"And here I thought you always liked Hiro better," Tadashi chuckled as he pet the purring cat in his lap.

"Mochi doesn't play favorites, Tadashi," Aunt Cass said as she entered the bedroom carrying two plates in her hands, "I brought us dinner!"

The two sat down on the couch together, Mochi nestling right between them. As they ate, Tadashi would slowly talk about the events concerning Callaghan and becoming superheroes. He knew he was sounding like he was reciting facts more than he was explaining how he felt himself, but that was all he was capable of at the moment. And Aunt Cass understood, lending an ear, a gentle touch, a warm hug…

Whenever they had their talks, Tadashi had to admit that he was glad Aunt Cass hadn't been there when the gang had confronted Callaghan. After all, there's no rage that matches that of a mother's.

~~~~~

_The search of the debris was officially concluded yesterday. They didn't find much else. It's really hard, thinking of the few remains they recovered of Hiro._

_But it's something. He didn't disappear into nothingness. Those remains exist. HE existed._

_Aunt Cass and I decided to redo the funeral. We have to put Hiro to rest properly this time._

~~~~~

Tadashi wasn't shaking when he stepped up to the podium this time around. His throat wasn't dry and his heart wasn't hammering as he stared out into the small group of mourners.

"Were you satisfied with your care?" Tadashi opened up his speech, "Back then, after everyone else left, I stared at that grave for what seemed like hours. Once I was finally able to speak, that was all I could say, all I could ask."

Tadashi closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath, before opening them and continuing.

"Hiro and I had out fights. We'd get on each other's nerves. We'd do all these stupid things to each other. We didn't always see eye to eye. I had to be the annoying Mr. Killjoy to Hiro, especially when he did those bot fights."

"When I stared at that grave, I wanted so desperately to know. Was he happy? I wasn't a perfect brother, but was he happy with me? Did I take care of him properly? Was I the big brother he wanted?"

Tadashi reached a hand into the pocket of his suit, brushing his fingers against the same piece of cloth that he relied on for comfort during the first funeral. He recalled the series of videos Baymax had shown him, videos of his little boneheaded brother who called him his idol.

"…I'd like to think I have my answer now."

~~~~~

_Dr. Rodriguez-Moore said today's assignment was about my friends._

_I owe them everything. Back when I first came to SFIT, I was this nervous kid who was dreaming big and was scared out of his mind. But I met them and we formed a tight knit group._

_They didn't have to agree to help me fight Callaghan. It was dangerous and stupid and I could've gotten all of them killed. But they didn't even hesitate. They stuck by me, no matter what. Even with what happened on Akuma Island._

_I didn't deserve to be forgiven for that. I almost killed someone. I had hurt them. Fred acted like he was fine, but I saw him wincing for days afterwards whenever someone patted his back. I saw Honey flinch if I moved my arm too quickly near her. Wasabi would ask me several times if I was okay if I happened to overhear someone talking about Callaghan. Gogo would keep a close eye on me, a wary expression on her face, if I seemed especially quiet._

_They were still my best friends, but things were awkward between us. It took a while before it went back to normal. Or, at least, to our new version of normal._

~~~~~

He was officially going back to SFIT. It had been a while, but it was time.

"Good luck, sweetie," Aunt Cass told him as she embraced him.

"Thanks, Aunt Cass," Tadashi replied. Aunt Cass was about to walk away, but Tadashi grabbed her and hugged her especially tight, "Last hug."

She returned the embrace and the two shared a smile before Tadashi joined his friends, who were waiting for him by the door of the café. The trip to the college was spent talking and laughing about this and that. Tadashi paused for a moment, taking in the campus, his heart pounding. He could feel his friends' eyes on him. With a deep breath, he stepped forward.

There was some time before everyone's first classes of the day started, so the gang steered Tadashi towards the student labs. The others raced into his lab ahead of him, telling him to wait outside for just a moment.

When they called for him to enter, Tadashi nervously adjusted his hat before opening the door to the lab he hadn't set foot in since before the fire.

"SURPRISE!"

Tadashi jumped and scrambled back several steps at several loud pops before he noticed the confetti that was covering him and the floor. A bright flash temporarily blinded him.

"A perfect picture!" Honey giggled, looking at the photo on her phone, "We definitely need to take more!"

Tadashi gazed about the room in a mild shock. Streamers in a rainbow of colors hung from the ceiling. There were bunches of balloons in the corners of the room. A large banner that read "WELCOME BACK TADASHI" hung from the wall on the far side of the lab. Tadashi could see the banner had several messages on it. He could instantly recognize Gogo's, Wasabi's, Honey's, and Fred's. He realized that the other messages must have been from other students who knew him. He could even recognize a few from some of the professors.

"Close that mouth, Hamada," Gogo told him amusedly. He hadn't even realized his jaw had dropped at the sight of the lab, "You didn't think we wouldn't have a proper welcome back celebration for you, did you?"

"Heathcliff even made a cake for us!" Fred exclaimed, holding out said cake, covered in white frosting and strawberries, "He even cut off those green leaves from the strawberries for you. Dude, you thought his cookies were great, you need to try his cakes!"

"And, of course, when we're finished, I have brooms and a ton of garbage bags, ready to go," Wasabi gestured to the pile of cleaning supplies over in the corner.

Tadashi honestly didn't know what to say. The gang all stepped aside, allowing him to walk forward and look around the lab. His work station was neat and proper, all his supplies in their proper spots. Tadashi removed his hat and hung it from the lamp above his desk. It was then that he saw the table set up near the window. Tadashi let out a breath at what he saw.

The rocket fist, Baymax's fist, was lying on the table. Right in front of the armored fist…

The hood of Hiro's jacket was bunched up. Seated atop the cloth was Megabot. The battle bot was positioned in a way so that it held onto a photo of Hiro, the piece of cloth with the pocket on it from Hiro's jacket neatly folded and tucked into the bottom corner of the frame.

Tadashi stopped right in front of the table, trembling slightly. He noticed a jump drive next to the little memorial for Hiro.

"I downloaded all the pictures from the weeks before the showcase onto it," Honey explained as Tadashi picked up the device, "I'd taken a couple videos too, so those are on there as well."

"We thought it'd be a nice touch," Wasabi told him, "That's why we asked you to give us that stuff a few days ago."

"Glad you didn't really ask questions, or it'd ruin the surprise," Fred added.

Tadashi stayed silent, putting the jump drive back down. He placed his hands on the table and took several deep breaths.

"Are you okay with this?" Gogo asked after a moment.

When Tadashi didn't respond, he heard the other muttering amongst themselves, wondering if they messed up.

"…Thank you," Tadashi finally whispered.

He turned to the others, his eyes watering and a smile on his face.

"Thank you, guys…For _everything_."

It only took seconds for the others to return the smile. Tadashi wasn't sure who started the group hug, but it happened.

The group sat in the lab, eating the cake and taking several pictures together. They talked and laughed and, when Tadashi started sharing stories about his little brother, there were a few tears shed too.

The five of them ended up accidentally skipping their first classes. But it was okay…

~~~~~

_Abigail Callaghan._

_When I said my hatred was towards her father alone, I meant it. But still, I couldn't help but not wanna meet or hear of Abigail Callaghan for the rest of my life. It was just so unfair, so utterly unfair to me._

_Callaghan was wrong. Callaghan was cruel. He ruined everything. So why did he get his daughter back?_

_But, during my talks with Dr. RM, she helped me realize I have to stop thinking about things in that angle. Forget connecting Abigail to Callaghan. Just think of her as Abigail. As a woman who got a second chance at life. A woman who may have been the reason behind everything that happened, but not responsible for it._

_Abigail didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for this. I have to remember that._

~~~~~

Abigail Callaghan. Age 25. Daughter of Robert Callaghan. Used to be a bot fighter but left that behind when she went to college. The victim of a failed government experiment.

That was all Tadashi knew about her when he arrived at the hospital to meet her. It had taken a few months before Abigail was in any state to accept visitors. He had requested a meeting with her. The doctors said that while she was surprised a stranger wanted to meet her, she'd be glad to have any company.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Callaghan," Tadashi greeted, taking a seat beside her bed.

"Hey, call me Abigail, I'm not that much older than you from the looks of it," she answered, a smirk on her face.

"Alright…Nice to meet you, Abigail."

The two spent some time chatting about random, casual things. She mentioned some surfing competitions she had won back when she was a teenager. He talked about how he had earned his black belt in karate less than a month earlier. Tadashi saw that there was a calculating look in Abigail's eyes. She was trying to figure out his motivation for visiting her, he knew that. That look went away when he brought up the subject of bot fights.

Her eyes lit up and she became far more animated, a large smile on her face and her laughs filling the room, as she talked about her past fights.

"My MO was pulling the naïve schoolgirl routine before really letting them have it," she stated smugly, "Ha! I had those guys eating out of the palm of my hand."

"…You really _are_ like Hiro," Tadashi chuckled quietly.

"Who?"

"My little brother," Tadashi said, "He was quite the bot fighter himself."

"Is that right?" Abigail looked interested at that, "Well, hey, whenever I get out of here, how about I take on your brother in a match? It's been a few years, but I don't think my skills are too rusty!"

Tadashi winced slightly at that. Abigail must have noticed the action, her eyes widening as she realized the implications behind the wince.

"O-oh, I'm…I-I'm so sorry," she stuttered, "I didn't mean-"

"No, it's okay," Tadashi interrupted gently, "It's…it's okay. You two probably would have gotten along though."

An awkward silence filled the room for a few seconds.

"How do you know about me being a former bot fighter?" Abigail asked him, "I mean, no offense, but you don't look like a kid who'd take part in that. And it's not like I blabbed about it to everyone."

"Your father was the one who mentioned it," Tadashi replied, getting to the part of this meeting he had been dreading and trying to hold off on.

Abigail seemed so happy at the mention of her father.

"You must be a SFIT student then," she said, "So you know my dad? Is he alright?"

"How much have people told you about what happened the day they found you?" Tadashi asked, growing more nervous by the minute.

"Barely a thing!" Abigail huffed in frustration, "I remember almost none of it myself. I mean, I think I remember a lot of debris and smoke. The doctors keep getting these weird looks when I ask. And whenever I ask about Dad, they keep avoiding the question."

A look of panic crossed her face as she stared at Tadashi.

"Dad's alive, right? He's not hurt, is he?"

Tadashi let out a sigh.

"I'm here to talk about him," he explained, "I figured it'd be better than you learning what happened from some news report or something."

Abigail looked cautious.

"I really am sorry, Abigail," Tadashi muttered before he began his explanation.

~~~~~

_Dr. RM told me to write about Callaghan._

_I hate him._

_I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him._

_I could go for pages like that. I HAVE gone for pages like that before. What else can I say?_

_It was my childhood dream to meet him, to be as great a roboticist as him. He always listened when I'd rant about Hiro. He gave me advice, both on projects and on my life. I respected him._

_But now…I just hate him._

_I'll NEVER forgive him._

~~~~~

"I didn't expect you to visit me…"

Tadashi's eye narrowed as he stopped in front of the cell. On the other side of those thick bars was Robert Callaghan, seated on a small bed. Callaghan stood up and walked closer to the bars so that he and Tadashi were face to face. The older man's expression was neutral.

"I was surprised to hear that you wanted to visit me," Callaghan noted, "I didn't think you would even be allowed to."

"General Schneider let me have a favor," Tadashi answered in a soft voice.

"And?" Callaghan looked expectant, "Why are you here?"

"…I don't know…"

He didn't. Tadashi honestly wasn't sure. All that he knew was that he absolutely wanted a chance to see Callaghan one more time.

The silence was tense between them. They'd make eye contact for a few brief seconds before looking away. Tadashi's hands were clenching and unclenching and there was a dull pounding in the back of his head.

"Your daughter is recovering well," he stated after a moment, "She said that the doctors are pleasantly surprised by her progress. She's doing well in physical therapy too."

"You saw Abigail?" Callaghan asked, a flicker of concern crossing his face.

"Someone had to tell her what happened," Tadashi responded coldly.

"…So, you told her…" Callaghan had a bitter grin on his face, "Is that supposed to be your revenge?"

"It was a kindness," Tadashi snapped, gripping the bars tightly and stepping close. His head was pounding painfully now, "Would you rather her find out her beloved father is a criminal from some TV report?"

Callaghan didn't reply, instead looking down at the ground. Tadashi released the bars and took a few steps back, trying to calm himself down. He looked over Callaghan…Just stared and stared.

"What's with that expression?" Callaghan asked after noticing Tadashi's gaze on him.

"I'm just remembering the Callaghan I knew," Tadashi murmured, "The one who was my idol and my favorite professor. The one who said he cared deeply about his students, about their work and their lives."

"If you're trying to make a point, Tadashi, do so," Callaghan said sternly.

For a moment, he sounded like Professor Callaghan again.

"I'm just surprised that the Callaghan I knew could turn on his own students without a second thought," Tadashi's voice was icy as he glared Callaghan down, "You didn't even hesitate to try and kill us. And you killed a boy without a shred of remorse. I would have never dreamed that you were capable of any of this…But you did it. You did all of it."

Callaghan frowned as he returned Tadashi's stare.

"You know what?" Tadashi broke the eye contact, removing his hat briefly to run a hand through his hair, "I'm done. I'm done with you. I don't wanna see you anymore. I don't wanna hear from you anymore. I'm done!"

Tadashi deserved to be free from this man. He started to walk away from the cell.

"Wait, Tadashi," Callaghan called, "There's something I need to give you."

Tadashi turned and, puzzled, walked back. He saw Callaghan pick something up from the bed before returning to the cell bars.

"They're supposed to confiscate all your possessions when you're jailed," Tadashi muttered.

"They did," Callaghan replied, "But when I heard you were coming, I told them I wanted to give this to you myself. Of course they checked it over for hours beforehand."

Tadashi narrowed his eyes before slowly holding out his hand. Callaghan dropped something small and metallic into Tadashi's open palm.

A single microbot.

"…Is this some kind of joke?" Tadashi growled, eyes locked on the tiny bot he thought he'd never have to look at again.

"Notice anything different about it?" Callaghan asked.

Tadashi looked at the bot closely. The microbots Callaghan had used…They were all black in color. However, the one in Tadashi hand was lighter, gray in color.

…More familiar…

"That night I attacked you and your friends," Callaghan started to say, "The microbots I was using were all my own. I was testing them, making sure they worked properly. When I got back to where I was building them, I noticed that single oddly colored one in the bunch."

"…It's Hiro's," Tadashi whispered, "The one I used to find you that night…"

"I decided to keep it on me," Callaghan told him, "Never used it, just had it on hand."

"Why?" Tadashi's thoughts were all over the place, "This microbot, the hood of Hiro's jacket. You had no reason to keep them as long as you did. So why did you?"

"…I thought you said you were done with me."

Tadashi clenched the microbot in his fist tightly.

"…Yeah, I am," he responded. He turned and walked away, pausing for just a moment near the door, "Goodbye, Callaghan."

Tadashi stared at the microbot in his hand for a good hour when he got home. He found a thin but strong chain and tightly secured the microbot to it.

It was a simple necklace. But once he put it on, he felt calm…happy…

~~~~~

_Baymax is today's assignment._

_He was an idea at first, and then my project. He was a robotic nurse, a source of many nights without sleep and many headaches. The reason behind several of my bruises and scars and a couple black eyes. The reason that I stayed at the lab overnight more than three times a week during part of the building process._

_He was my friend. One of my best friends._

_He helped me out before he even downloaded that primitive mental and emotional health program I had come up with. He saved my life several times. He made me happy. Happy for the first time since the fire._

_And I had to let him go in that portal._

_But there's a reason I wanted to keep his rocket fist. Not just as a reminder of him. His fist held his chip, the chip that made Baymax who he is. That knucklehead…He removed his chip while we were in that portal. When Baymax says things, he almost always means them literally._

_I could rebuild him. I still have all the notes, I have access to the materials, and I have his programming. I could rebuild him._

_But, so far, the only interaction I've had with that chip was when I downloaded a copy of those videos of Hiro onto my computer. Truth is, I'm scared._

_What if I rebuild him and he's not the same Baymax I know? The one who helped me, became my friend? I know it sounds crazy, but I can't help but worry._

_It'd mean nothing to rebuild Baymax and not have him BE Baymax…_

~~~~~

Tadashi felt a chill go down his spine as he put the microchip in place. The only adjustment he had made to the chip was finally finishing the mental and emotional health program. Other than that, the programming remained untouched.

This Baymax was a carbon copy of the original. But this was the moment of truth. Would his personality remain?

"This is Tadashi Hamada, and this is the first test," Tadashi murmured out of habit before closing the access port with the chip inside.

He immediately turned his back to Baymax. If this went wrong…He didn't know if he could handle looking at the bot.

"Hello, I am Baymax," the robot greeted in that voice he had missed so much, "Your personal healthcare companion."

A pause. Nothing else. Tadashi's shoulders dropped, his heart feeling like it plummeted. So…He had failed then…

"Is there a reason you are facing away from me, Tadashi?" Baymax asked.

Tadashi spun around so fast, he nearly got whiplash, as Baymax made sure to point out. His heart raced as he smiled widely.

"You have one of the tiny robots around your neck," Baymax noted as he looked at Tadashi's necklace.

"Y-yeah, I do," Tadashi gasped in a mix of disbelief and happiness, "You…You remember me, Baymax?"

"Of course I do," Baymax replied, tilting his head, "You are Tadashi, my creator…And my friend."

Tadashi let out an exhilarated laugh as he practically tackled Baymax, hugging the bot tightly. After a second, Baymax's arms wrapped around Tadashi. He felt the bot gently press his vinyl head atop his own.

"I missed you, buddy…"

~~~~~

_Yeah, you know how I mentioned that the whole superhero thing would be over with after the mess with Callaghan? Well, I talked with the gang and we've decided to keep it going._

_I mean, sure, I don't think we have to worry too much about anyone else pulling a Callaghan on us. Honestly, I don't expect a bunch of supervillains like the ones in Fred's comics to pop up out of nowhere now._

_But we could definitely help out with other stuff. Stuff the police and fire department can't get to in time. It'd be another way for us to change the world. Of course, it's gonna be a pain fitting superhero work in with college. But I think we can pull it off._

~~~~~

"You finished Baymax's armor?"

"Yup! It's all set to go! Now all I have to do is finish up the repairs on my own suit."

Tadashi was at his lab at SFIT. It was late at night, there were very few students working. Which meant that it was the perfect time for Tadashi to put the finishing touches on Baymax's armor.

The suits Tadashi and the others had come up with using the stuff in the garage back home were pretty good and had done well against Callaghan. However, with access to the added equipment and materials in the lab, the group had managed to fix and improve upon their suits, making the material more durable and safer to use. And adding in a couple new features here and there.

Tadashi was currently video chatting with the rest of the gang, who had gone to their respective homes for the night.

"Dude, we're gonna be real fulltime superheroes just like my dad!" Fred shouted excitedly.

"Ugh, Fred, enough about that already!" Gogo groaned.

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Fred, we've met your dad, he's not a superhero!" Wasabi exclaimed.

"Well not now!" Fred stated, as though it should have been obvious, "He's retired! But he was something else back in the day, guys! He even uses my underwear method, isn't that cool?"

"It's really…not," Honey sighed.

"Alright, that's enough about underwear and Fred's super dad for one night," Tadashi laughed, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

The group said their farewells as Tadashi ended the chat. The young man got to work helping Baymax into the superhero suit, making sure everything was adjusted properly.

"And remember," Tadashi said for the tenth time, "If…If what happened back on Akuma Island happens again…"

"I'll immediately lock my access port," Baymax finished, "Although my sensors indicate that your emotional and mental state are rather stable, so I don't believe you will repeat that incident, Tadashi."

"It's just a precaution, Baymax," Tadashi told the bot, "I don't wanna put you or the others through that again…"

After finishing the adjustments, Tadashi stepped back and appreciated the armor. He then glanced over at his desk.

With the rocket fist fixed up for Baymax's armor, there was no need for the table to remain in the lab. So, Tadashi took the little memorial to Hiro that his friends had made and moved it over to his desk. Beside the memorial was Hiro's notebook. It was relaxing, comforting, on stressful days to just turn his head and see these things, to see his brother's face.

There was an added comfort that Honey made sure to apply her specially made, super safe compound to the memorial and the notebook, making them fire and water resistant. It was a little thing, but it put Tadashi at ease.

"You know, Hiro would say that we can't be a proper superhero team without a team name," Tadashi said as he started to remove the armor once he was sure everything was properly fitted, "I was thinking 'Big Hero 6'."

"Big Hero 6?" Baymax repeated.

"Yeah, it's kinda cool," Tadashi replied with a smile, glancing at his brother's picture, "Right, Hiro?"

~~~~~

_It's been several months since I started meeting with the doctor. My visits are slowly winding down now. I only ever see her once every two weeks now. I think I'm reaching the point that I won't need these visits anymore. There are only a few pages left in this journal now. Well, I think I've become too used to writing in it to stop. Maybe I'll get myself another one to write in._

_Anyways, Dr. RM said that I should do an entry on Hiro. I told her that I've already done a ton of entries on him. But she said that I should write an entry that's like a message to him._

_A message? I've done plenty of those too. Pages of angry rants. Tearstained pages of questions. Pages of funny memories. Of close calls and brotherhood. I've written plenty of messages to Hiro about a ton of subjects. I guess all that's left is to say thanks._

_Thank you, Hiro._

_Thank you for being by my side for fourteen years. Thank you for giving me a reason to stay strong after Mom and Dad died. Thank you for helping me to adjust during those first few awkward weeks when we started living with Aunt Cass. Thank you for giving me someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to invent with. Thank you for giving me a reason to keep on wanting to change the world, to want to create Baymax._

_Thanks for being such a massive bonehead. For those times you got us in trouble when you snuck donuts from the café. For making me have to race all over the city to keep you from getting beaten up at bot fights. For getting us arrested that one time. For all those stupid fights, and all the serious ones._

_Thanks for making me laugh. Especially on those days when my projects weren't working or tests were stressing me out. Thanks for keeping me up all night sometimes to talk about stuff; problems or dreams or whatever. Thanks for the movie nights and game nights and prank wars. For putting up with my lectures, for dealing with those days I was too annoyed over something. For taking my less than nice moments in stride, even if your revenge attempts were just as bad._

_Thank you for those videos. For making me realize I was being an idiot. For considering me good enough to be your role model. For thinking I was great, despite everything. For making me remember that all I wanted was to make sure you got justice. To make sure you could rest in peace._

_Hey, did you know that they're rebuilding the hall at SFIT? Krei's funding it and it's gonna be named after you. The Hiro Hamada Memorial Hall. Krei wants me to give a speech. I guess I have to thank you for that too, huh? I'm getting tired of these speeches._

_I'm glad Mom and Dad didn't "cancel their order" after all. I'm glad I got to be your big brother._

_Thank you for being my little brother, Hiro Hamada. I love you, bonehead._

_Hiro would probably slap me senseless for all this mush. But I stand by what I told him once. A little mush is good now and then._

_Great, now I'm crying, I thought I was done with all of that. Better end this entry here before I smudge the writing again._

~~~~~

Tadashi Hamada was nine years old when he became an orphan.

Tadashi Hamada was twenty years old when he became an only child.

It would always hurt. Hiro was his little brother, of course it would. It would always be painful for him. Hiro would always be a painful person to remember. To think about what could have been. They were supposed to team up and change the world together. The Hamada brothers.

But, ever so slowly, Tadashi stopped focusing on what if scenarios. He thought about them from time to time, but they stopped dominating his thoughts. He paid more attention to the memories, to who Hiro was. He focused more on those fourteen years of laughter and tears and love. The warmth and love for that that tiny dork with the messy hair and the gap in his teeth and the never ending sass slowly overwhelmed the pain and loss that Dr. Rodriguez-Moore assured him in his last visit that it was okay for him to still have after all this time.

Tadashi gently pressed his fingers to the microbot that hung from his necklace and hugged Aunt Cass goodbye before he set out at the news of a bank robbery turned hostage situation occurring on the other side of the city, Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, and Fred by his side and Baymax right behind them.

It had taken a long time, but the wall was finally gone. Tadashi finally found the strength to move forward, for both himself and Hiro. With his twenty-first birthday around the corner, Tadashi Hamada realized something important.

It didn't hurt as much anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DONE! Not just chapter done, but story done! And, with that, Twist Of Fate is officially done and over with! You may have noticed it, but I was trying to mirror the style of chapter five with this chapter. I thought it'd be a nice touch to have it like that. Not as much research was involved with this chapter. I just read up on some stuff regarding psychologists and writing therapy. Yes, it is actually called writing therapy and it's considered to be rather effective. I think it'd work just fine for Tadashi. I liked the uncertainty factor with the part with Callaghan. And I hope I did Abigail justice. I wanted to make sure she could remind someone of Hiro.
> 
> Anyways, I didn't just title this chapter "Thank You" because of Tadashi's message to Hiro. I also did it for the people I'm grateful for. And so, let's get started on MY thanks.
> 
> Thank you to the (as of this moment) 520 people who put this story in their favorites and the 654 people who followed it and thanks for the 460 reviews on this story for FFN. For AO3, thanks for 100 Kudos and the 22 Bookmarks and the 120 comments, although some of those are my responses. Thank you to the people who liked and reblogged my posts concerning this story on my Tumblr account as well. And to all of you who read the story and didn't make a comment or a like or a favorite or whatever, thanks to all of you as well!
> 
> Thank you to the following Tumblr users, who took time out of their lives to make lovely fanart for this fic: macaroonsie, kartsie, rochichan, nac4tt, and prpldragonart. Thank you for the wonderful art and for fulfilling a dream of mine by making such art. I loved seeing it and it definitely made me tear up to see it.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who sent me messages regarding this fic. Whether it was a question about something, an emotional rant calling me a merciless author, a message letting me know that you loved the story, a message telling me to have a nice day or whatever. Thank you for consistently reminding me that I am not just writing this story because I'm having fun with it. I'm writing it for the people who enjoy it too, the people who enjoy this story and can't wait to see the next installment.
> 
> Thank you to BrokenWings2602, who is taking the time to translate this fic for an Indonesian audience, right? Thanks for enjoying this enough to want to do that!
> 
> Thanks to Big Hero 6 as well, for taking over my life to such an intense degree. It's been a long time since I fell for something as hard as I fell for this film. And I am especially thankful for my darling Hamada brothers, who I truly do love despite all the shit I put them through.
> 
> And, honestly, thank you in general! It has been an absolute blast writing this for the past two months. And it has definitely helped me out a lot. You see, my college semester hadn't been going too well. I had been stressed and sad and just all over the place. But Big Hero 6 and this fanfic really helped me. And all of you who took part in this story in some way really and truly gave me a lot to smile about. Thank you all for putting up with me and my posts and my sadistic author tendencies. And thanks for making me smile through that awful college semester and through my holiday spent in the hospital and all that.
> 
> Like I mentioned before, I do have oneshots and short stories planned. Some take place in canon, some in the Twist Of Fate universe, and some in other AUs. But I have more stuff planned to write in the future. And I hope you guys enjoy that stuff. I hope some of you also enjoy the other stories I've written and need to keep working on.
> 
> And so, for the last time, please read and review! And, until we meet again for a new story, see you guys later~!


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